Never Make a Bet with James Potter
by GossipGirlHere
Summary: Note to self: The next time James wants to make a bet with me, what am I going to do? That's right, WALK AWAY!
1. Game On

**This idea came into my head last night and I just had to write it down. I _love_ James and I _love_ Rose and Scorpius, and thus this story was born. Enjoy!**

James Sirius Potter prided himself on being a good bloke. He was funny, he was clever, he was a good brother, a loyal friend, a great boyfriend, and a promising trainee curse-breaker (modesty was still an issue for him, unfortunately). And when James wasn't pranking people, one of his favorite hobbies was, to use his wording, 'saving' them. From themselves, from their parents, from their futures, from anything, really. And, it was in the spirit of this passtime that James, upon hearing from his brother Albus that Rose had recieved her Head Girl badge in the post that morning, set off for the Weasleys house (Ron and Hermione Weasley's house, that is).

When he arrived he said a quick hello to Ron, Hermione, and Hugo, before heading into the back garden where Rose sat on a worn stone bench. She was re-reading her letter, her eyes shining in triumph and eager anticipation. She was fingering the badge lovingly, grinning from ear to ear.

He plopped down beside her and said, grinning, "Congrats Rosie!"

"Thanks James," she beamed, "How'd you find out?"

"Al told me," James said, before continuing in a still-cheery fashion, "And best of all, guess who the Head Boy is?"

Rose was not fooled. She knew the look on her cousin's face, she'd seen it many times before.

"No," she said slowly, "No bloody way!"

"Fraid so," he shrugged, "Al told me straight away. Dear old Scorpius owled him immediately. I mean, after all, they are best friends..."

Rose was fuming. James was goading her, and she knew she shouldn't rise to it, but she couldn't help it. Even though she'd long ago come to terms with the fact that her childhood best friend was a Slytherin and best friends with her arch enemy, that didn't mean she had to like it. Of course, she'd found a suitable best friend in fellow-Ravenclaw Clarice Longbottom, but the downside to that arrangement was that, when Clarice and James began going out the year before, she had to suffer much more of James than she'd previously thought she could stomach, and James' favorite topic of conversation when Rose was around was, predictably, Scorpius Malfoy.

"Shut up," she muttered.

"Oh, very witty comback, Rosie," he smirked, "Do you save all the good ones for dear Scorpius?"

She glared at him. "Did you just come here to spoil my victory?"

James pretended to be affronted, "Whatever gave you that impression, my dear cousin? I came here to congradulate you on your success and inform you of with whom you will be sharing the success, the honor, the responsibility, and, best of all, the common room..."

"Ugh," she moaned. She'd temporarily forgotten that the Head Boy and Girl shared a common room. Now she'd have to spend all year with the Slytherin git.

"Well," James continued, "At least now none of us have to worry about the Head Boy coming on to you."

"Excuse me?" she asked, offended.

"Well," Jame said, playing it as cool as possible. She was falling right into his trap and he didn't want to blow it, "I mean, if it'd been someone like Andrew Davies he might've tried to make a move, but we all know Scorpius would never be attracted to you, even if you tried to make him."

The comment found its mark.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she glared, "You don't think I'm good enough for Malfoy?"

"I just don't think he'd ever be attracted to you..." he drifted off suggestively.

"I bet you he would be!" she said.

"Alright," he smirked. She hated being challenged and she loved being right. She'd played right into his hands, "I bet you that you _can't_ make him fall in love with you by the end of the year."

Rose stood up, leaving the letter and the badge on the bench, and began pacing the garden. The responsible, reasonable voice inside her head was telling her that this was a _very_ bad idea, but the proud, challenging voice, the one she was convinced she'd inheritted from her dad, was fuming with indignation.

She whipped around, "Fine. And if I win you have to," she paused, biting her lip and thinking. She needed something really good for it to be worth the effort. "You have to streak through the Great Hall in the middle of dinner!"

James frowned. If his plan worked the way he wanted it to, he was going to lose, and he definitely didn't want to streak through the Great Hall.

"No deal," he said, "I'm not making a special trip up to Hogwarts just to streak."

"I thought you were sure you'd win," she smirked.

He grumbled.

"Fine," he muttered, "And if I win, you have to kiss Scorpius, on the lips, in the middle of the Great Hall in front of everyone."

This was his back up plan, in case he actually won.

She looked revolted, "Ugh, no way!"

"I thought you were sure you'd win," he mocked, throwing her earlier words back at her.

"Fine," she grumbled. Grabbing her letter and badge to head into the house. Her mood having been ruined by her no-good cousin, what a prat.

"Hey, hey, hey! Not so fast," he smirked, standing up. He'd been lounging in an extremely irritatingly non-chalant fashion throughout the conversation, "We need to establish some rules. No telling anyone about the bet. Not a word to a single soul."

"Except Clarice," she quallified, "I'm allowed at least one person to help me!"

He tried not to smile, "Alright then. Just Clarice." In truth, he'd planned on telling Clarice about it anyway so she could witness his triumph, but this would be even better. Now she could help him.

He extended his hand out to her and she took it.

"Deal?"

"Deal."

* * *

><p>James had to wait a few days before cornering Scorpius. Even though Scorpius was best friends with his brother, and got along pretty well with James, the Potters, and some of the Weasleys, James still wasn't in a position where he could just pop over to Malfoy Manor whenever he felt like it. Only Al could do that...<p>

So, he waited until Scorpius came over to the Potters' for dinner a few nights later.

After diner, he persuaded Scorpius to play chess with him, much to Al's discontent, and only after they'd settled down at the board did he speak.

"I hear you're Head Boy next year," he began casually, nudging his pawn forward.

Scorpius smirked, "You've heard right." His knight moved back.

"And has Al, by any chance, told you the good news?" A bishop cornered a rook.

"What good news?" he asked skeptically. Anything that James Potter called good news was, most surely, bad news for him. A rook took a pawn.

"Rosie is Head Girl." A queen took a rook.

Scorpius' eyes narrowed. Of course Weasley would find some way to ruin this for him. _Weasley_ only ever meant one person inside his head, despite the fact that here were dozens of them. The rest were just Victoire or Hugo, Molly or Fred, but she was Weasley. She'd always been, from the very first day. To be fair, she'd started it all. After Al'd been sorted and had gone to their table to sit next to him, she'd been glaring daggars at him, and flounced by him with a snarl as she made her own way to the Ravenclaw table. He learned from Al later that she'd been mad at him for stealing her best friend, but even if that conflict hadn't arisen, they would've been enemies. She was the best in the year, unquestionabley, but that didn't stop him from trying to beat her at every test. He was the best seeker in the school, undoubtably, but that didn't stop her training her hardest every year for the Ravenclaw/Slytherin Quidditch match. Their competitions were unsatisfying for them both because neither ever won completely. It was maddening.

"Great," he muttered sarcastically, rolling his eyes, "Just _fabulous_."

"Well, at least you don't have to worry about the Head Girl making a move," James pointed out fairly.

"Yeah, she wishes," he smirked.

"Um, no," Jame said smugly, "I thought what I just said is that she doesn't."

Scorpius shrugged, "I've never met a girl who didn't."

"Except Rose," James interjected.

"Well," he said carelessly, "She would if I made an effort. But, of course, that would involve being in the same room with her for more than two minutes, which I simply don't feel inclined to do."

"I don't think she'd be attracted to you, even if you did," James said idly, holding in his smirk.

"Uh, yeah, she would," he replied, "Even Weasley's capable of feeling. Besides," he smirked, "No one can resist this."

In a way, he was right, James had to grudgingly admit. Scorpius was smart, he was handsome, he was in shape, thanks to Quidditch, he was talented, he was funny, and, believe or not, sensitive and considerate when he felt like it. Not that he felt like it too often.

"She can," James challenged.

Scorpius rolled his eyes, "This is a pointless argument."

"I bet you, even if you spent all year trying, that you couldn't make her fall in love with you."

"Oh yeah?" Scorpius said without reservations. Unlike Rose, he didn't have a reasonable, rational voice in his head. He was no Ravenclaw. "What are the stakes?"

"If I win you have to kiss her, full on the mouth, in front of the entire Great Hall."

He smirked as Scorpius cringed a bit before saying, "And if I win?"

James thought for a fraction of a second. He planned on losing, and he didn't want to have to do _two _horribley embarrassing things when he did, "I'll streak through the Great Hall," he said easily.

"You're that confident?"

"Oh yeah."

They were both smirking.

"Game on."

**So, that's chapter one. Please review!**

**XOXO**

**GossipGirlHere**


	2. The Power of Jane Austen

**I was feeling really inspired to write this chapter thanks to all the fabulous reviews I got for the first chapter, so keep it up! This one's a bit longer than the last, but not terribly long, and I'm really pleased with how it turned out. Enjoy!**

"James! What the bloody hell are you thinking?"

James started. He'd been lying the hammock that hung in the Potters' back garden, totally at ease, when his brother stormed out of the house looking livid. He rolled his eyes. He'd given Socprius permission to tell one person about the bet and, shocker, Scorpius had picked Al.

"Stop being such a drama queen," James sighed, sitting up as Al reached him, "You know, for a Slytherin, you really don't have much of a sense of fun."

"Playing with Rose's emotions isn't fun, it's mean! She's your cousin!" Al spat.

"Oh, so _that's_ what you're worried about," James said, understanding dawning on him, "So you actually think he can do it?"

"I don't know, but he's gonna try, and if he succeeds it's really gonna hurt her, and if he doesn't he'll have to kiss her, which is really gonna hurt _him_."

James flinched dramatically. After all, they all knew what a temper Rose had, especially when it came to Scorpius.

"Listen," James said easily, "_Relax. _I have it all under control."

"Oh yeah? How're you gonna have it 'under control' when we all go back to Hogwarts?"

"That's what you're for. And Clarice."

Al was speechless, puzzlement written on every one of his features. "What-"

"Listen," James said, "I didn't just make this bet with Scorpius, I made it with Rose too. They're _both_ gonna spend the year trying to make the other fall for them, and you and Clarice are there to help them. You aren't allowed to tell Scorpius I've got a bet with Rose, though. It'd ruin everything."

"And what exactly is 'everything'?" Al asked, "What's the point? They hate each other's guts. What exactly are you getting from winning?"

"Oh, I'm not planning on winning," James said smugly, "I'm planning on losing, actually."

Albus gaped at him.

"Haven't you ever heard of the thin line between love and hate?" James asked, "And for those two the line gets thinner every day. When they go at it, screaming at each other from accross hallways, you know they're both just secretly ready for a good snog."

"You call hexing each other every which way 'ready for a good snog'?" Al asked skeptically.

"You'll see," James smirked, "This'll all work out, and by the end of the year they'll be together, and we can all laugh at Uncle Ron's reaction, and make Scorpius squirm a little bit. That is, if you cooperate."

"And what exactly am I supposed to do?" Al asked.

"Help Scorpius get Rose to fall for him," James said simply, lying down and putting his hands behind his head, a signal that the conversation was over.

Al sighed in frustration, "You'll see," he warned, heading back for the house, "This is a _really_ bad idea."

James rolled his eyes.

* * *

><p>On the morning of September 1st, Rose, Scorpius, and James were all immersed in their planning, even though the train hadn't even left the station.<p>

"Now, promise to keep me updated," James said to Clarice as he helped her hoist her trunk onto the train, "Because you and I both know that Al won't."

Clarice rolled her eyes, "One would almost think you were dating me solely for the benefit of this experiment."

He rolled his eyes right back at her.

Further down the platform, Scorpius, having bidden his parents goodbye, and Al were saying goodbye to Harry and Ginny, Lily having already disappeared amongst her friends.

As they made to get on the train Scorpius gave Al an apologetic smile as he said, "I have to sit in the Prefect Carriage, probably for the whole trip."

"Why? So you can get an early start with Rose?" Al asked.

"Yep," Scorpius said, "I wanna catch her off guard."

"You sound like you're planning on attacking her, not seducing her."

"Much the same thing," Scorpius replied with a joking smirk. "I'll see you when we get there, okay?"

"Yeah," he grumbled. Leave it to James to rob him of his best mate for their last journy to Hogwarts. What a prat.

* * *

><p>When Rose entered the Heads' compartment she found it empty. She was glad, as it gave her some time to collect her thoughts and formulate a plan. She and Scorpius had to give instructions to the prefects, but that only ever took a few minutes, and then she'd have plenty of time alone with him. She figured the best way to seduce him was to start being nicer, but not <em>too<em> nice. Tantalizingly flirtatious but still distanced. Of course, the change would be gradual. First, it'd only be the little things, starting on this train trip. She'd remain in the Heads' compartment with him for the entire ride, and she'd already resolved not to rise to any of his insults. She'd reply calmly, though still wittily, and then return to her book. That was the plan.

Resolved to all of this, she settled herself down by the window with a book and waited for the prick to arrive.

When Scorpius entered he put his trunk up without comment and settled down opposite her, taking out a copy of _The_ _Daily Prophet._ This confused Rose, as normally she'd have been greeted with an insult or snide remark. She wasn't sure how to deal with the silence.

Soon the prefects arrived, and they carried out their Head duties without incident, but after the prefects left they still had a very long train trip ahead of them, and it looked as if it was going to be filled with uncomfortable silence.

After about an hour Scorpius decided to say something, _anything_, just to get her talking. Despite having spent the last six years of his life competing with and insulting her, he didn't know all that much about her, and what he did know wasn't exactly unbiased. He knew she was the best in the year, a Ravenclaw, the seeker on her house team, and one of many Weasleys. Those were the solid facts. Of course, he also knew she was witty and clever, but normally those qualities didn't help him, she was rather bossy and a know-it-all in his opinion, but apparently other people didn't seem to think so, as she was never short of friends or admirers. And she, like him, hated to be wrong. The only problem with that was that her being right normally corresponded with him being wrong, which _so_ did not work for him. That little similarity is what led to most of their arguments. Of course, every once and a while he could acknowledge she'd been right inside his own head, but most of the time she was, in fact, dead wrong, and even if she wasn't he could never acknowledge that she was right out loud, so they fought continuously.

However, Scorpius needed to know more about her if he wanted to have any chance of succeeding. He'd have to find some good (or at least semi-good, he didn't want to hope for too much) qualities to latch onto.

So, he asked, after an hour of very uncomfortable silence, "What's the book?"

She started, and had to hold in her smirk. She'd been waiting for him to speak first, and he had, just as she'd hoped. She never made it look like she cared one way or another about any boy when she first met him. She wasn't rude, it was simply an indifference that drove most boys crazy, and she had every reason to believe that Scorpius was just as self-centered and testosterone dominated as any other boy, if not more so. Her indifference, she hoped, would irritate him and tempt him into persuing her.

"I'm sorry," she said, accenting her surprise with a quirk of her eyebrow, "Did you say something?"

"Uh, yeah," he said, "I asked what you were reading."

"Oh," she said carelessly, "Just a muggle book. You probably wouldn't know it."

"Try me," he challenged. Just what she'd been hoping for.

"_Pride and Prejudice._" She was met with a blank look, which she'd been expecting. "I didn't think so," she continued condescendingly.

The rest of the ride passed in near silence, with the exception of when Scorpius asked Rose what she wanted from the trolly and then, rather gallantly in his opinion, refused her money amd offered to pay for it with his own, silencing her protests.

He'd asked Al before they left what type of guy Rose went for, and Al's answer had been most eluminating. She liked smart guys, obviously, nice guys, but not boring. He'd said that she didn't like _easy_ guys, but she didn't like guys who were _trying_ to be hard, and she definitely didn't like players, though plenty of them were interested in her. In other words, Scorpius' total opposite, basically (except for the smart part, obviously. Scorpius would always be the first to admit that he was bloody brilliant.)

Armed with this information from Al, and with his new knowledge that she liked muggle books, he made a mental note to go to the library and check out _Pride and Prejudice_, and any other books like it, when they got to the castle. She wanted a nice guy, he'd be a nice guy. He wouldn't be easy, but he'd be accessible, and he wouldn't be a player, he'd be a monogamist. He would chose the sacraficial girlfriend with care. She'd be the type of girl Rose could respect, and he'd be an unfailingly perfect boyfriend. Still armed with the sacraficial girlfriend, he would build his friendship with Rose and then, at the appropriate time, break things off, in a courtious and caring manner, with the girlfriend, leaving himself open for Rose. However, he was well aware that all of this was easier said than done. Still, he felt glad that he'd established a plan (and only three phases too; with any luck, he'd have won by Christmas!).

When they reached the castle they ushered people off of the train before seperating. Scorpius met up with Al and they rode together in a carriage along with their friend, Peter Goyle, leaving Rose free to find Clarice. They were able to snag a carriage for themselves, much to their excitement, leaving them free to discuss their plans.

"So, how was the trip?" asked Clarice, "Make any progress?"

"No," Rose said, frustrated, "I mean, I guess a little..." she recounted the conversation concerning _Pride and Prejudice._

"Hm," Clarice began when Rose had finished, "I think you played it very well. You were condescending and challenging, but not in an abrasive way, more in a..."

"Tantalizing way?" suggested Rose, "That's what I was going for. But, he's not acting like himself. I mean, I suppose he can't be a git _all_ the time, seeing as he's friends with Al and all, but he wasn't acting the way he normally does with me. He paid for my stuff from the trolly! Willingly! And he didn't insult me once, not _once_, during the entire trip!"

Clarice furrowed her brow. She supposed that Scorpius was trying to be nice in order to get Rose to like him. However, this presented a problem because Rose didn't know that Scorpius was just _pretending_ to be more polite, so she would proabably want to change tactics, but Clarice knew that Rose's tactic would work because Scorpius wasn't _actually_ changing. However, she couldn't explain any of this to Rose, obviously, so all she said was, "Maybe he was feeling sick or something. Give it a few days. After all, you have an entire year."

"I guess," she grumbled, leaning back. After a moment she said, "You know, I can't figure out why you agreed to help me with this."

"Because you're my best friend?"

"Yeah, but James is your boyfriend. Shouldn't you want him to win?"

"Just because we're dating doesn't mean I don't enjoy seeing him lose," Clarice smirked.

"You're diabolical," Rose smirked in return, "But I guess you had to be, somewhere in there, otherwise James wouldn't have fallen for you."

* * *

><p>The very next day Scorpius began the first phase of his plan: become a nice guy and a good friend. He was at the library every free period, mostly studying for his N.E.W.T.s (he wasn't going to give up his attempts to be the best in the year, even though he knew somewhere deep inside that he'd never win and that it would take time away from the bet), but also reading muggle novels. He'd always been a fast reader, and was getting through them quickly. He always made sure to bring one back to the common room that he and Rose now shared, in the hopes of getting her to notice it, but she seemed completely indifferent to him. She still teased him and made witty, albeit mean, comments, but they were offhanded, casual even, when before they'd been heated and angry. He hoped this change in attitude was a response to his change in attitude, and that it meant he was making progress.<p>

One evening about two weeks into term, she came back to their common room from Quidditch practice and noticed him reading on the couch. As she walked past him, she noticed, much to her surprise, that he was reading _Pride and Prejudice_.

"What's the book?" she asked casually, sitting down in the armchair closest to his end of the couch.

He showed her the cover without look up, his eyes still moving down the page.

She smirked. "What made you decide to read it?"

"Well, if you liked it then it can't be stupid, so I figured why not give it a go," he replied easily.

She paused. That had not been the answer she'd expected. Her brain was whirring. Did this mean he was trying to impress her? It must. She was making progress!

"And how do you like it?" she asked.

"It's not bad," he said casually, "Though I much prefer _Emma_. Mr. Knightly's far nobler than Mr. Darcy, who's a prick for the entire first half of the book."

She had to actively stop herself from gaping. She'd managed to, with only a single, offhanded comment, get him to read Jane Austen.

He looked at her, trying not to smirk. She was impressed, as he knew she'd be.

As they both looked at each other, they each had the same thought: _You are so falling for me._

**Let me know what you're thinking in a review _please_! You have no idea how much it helps. I love to hear what my readers think, so tell me what you think of Scorpius' plan, of Rose's plan, of James' plan, of how involved you want Clarice and Al to be in the bet...basically just tell me anything.**

**XOXO**

**GossipGirlHere**


	3. Choice of Accomplices

**I'm really pleased with this chapter, as it's what really starts the action. A new character is introduced (not one of my own invention, but rather one of J.K.'s characters is introduced to the plot) and I'm really liking the way the character gets involved. Enjoy!**

Rose and Scorpius spent all of September and most of October falling into a pattern. They still competed for test scores, and trained harder than ever on the Quidditch pitch, but when not involved in these persuits they were more civilized towards each other than ever before. Rose would tease him and challenge him into doing things, things which he would then do in the hopes of impressing her. As this pattern established itself they both believed that they'd achieved their goals: Rose's goal of getting Scorpius to become interested in her and want to impress her, and Scorpius' goal of getting Rose to see him as a good guy and a friend.

And, in a way, they were becoming friends. Rose, despite her all-consuming desire to win, which had not faded in the slightest, began to look forward to time spent with Scorpius. She enjoyed teasing him, as well as his witty remarks, which were no longer shouted or mean-spirited. Scorpius enjoyed seeing her impressed with his feats. When he produced opinions about muggle literature or transfiguration theories (whether those opinions were genuine or not), she would gape for a moment before challenging those opinions, and a new cycle of reading would begin.

Rose was waiting for a shift. She felt stuck in a rut and irritated with herself that she was enjoying this repetative cycle. By mid-October she realized that, while she'd made progress, she wasn't getting any further, and that would not do. Still, she was waiting for something, _anything_, that would signal it was time to change tactics.

That something came in Scorpius' choice to move on to the second phase of his plan: it was time to select the sacraficial girlfriend. He chose with care. It needed to be a girl Rose respected and liked, and who was close enough friends with Rose that Rose would have plenty of opportunities to see them together. Now, his first choice would've been Clarice, but he somehow didn't think James would go for that, so he had to come up with someone else.

Two days before the first Hogsmead trip of the year, which would take place on Halloween, he sat with Albus in the Heads' Common Room thinking.

"What about Samantha Finnigan?" Scorpius asked. He was running girls by Albus to see what Albus knew about their relationships with Rose.

"Nah," he said.

Scorpius scratched the name off of his list irritably, "Why not?"

"Cause, first, she's a Gryffindor, so she doesn't see Rose too much, second, Rose thinks she's a bimbo."

"Fine, what about Rachel MacMillan? She's a Ravenclaw, so she can't be stupid."

"She's okay. Rose likes her, but they aren't exactly great friends..."

"Fine, what about-"

He stopped. He could hear voices just outside of the portrait hole that led into the Heads' Common Room. They waited, and eventually the voices faded.

"You sure it's safe to talk about this here?" Al said.

"Yeah, she's got Quidditch practice untill seven tonight. Anyway, what about Lauren Boot?"

Albus grinned, "Perfect. She's Rose's second-closest girl friend who's not in the family. She's nice, smart, and-"

"Who's not in the family," Scorpius muttered under his breath, before he exclaimed, "That's it!"

Al started, "What?"

"Your sister!" Scorpius said, "It's brilliant!"

Al glared at him, seething, "If you think I'm gonna let you use my baby sister as a sacraficial girlfriend, you've got another thing coming. It's one thing toying with Rose's emotions this way, and the only reason I'm helping is that I'm convinced it won't work," Al was, of course, lying about Rose, but he was trying to drive a more serious point home, so he didn't much care, "But she's only a fifth year, and if she actually fell for you she'd be heartbroken! She can't-"

"We'd tell her what was going on," Scorpius hurried, "And she'd be perfect."

"Just one problem," Al said, "James said you could only tell one person, and you've already told me."

"Write and ask him!" Scorpius urged.

"What?"

"Write and ask him!" he repeated, "If I do it, he'll say no, but if _you_ do it..."

"Fine," Al said, "I'll write tonight. But you owe me. Big time."

* * *

><p><em>James,<em>

_Scorpius wants to use a 'sacraficial girlfriend' (his words, not mine) to get Rose to fall for him, and he wants to use Lily. He requests your permission to tell Lily about the bet. That's what he's told me to say, but I'd just like to add that this could be a really good idea. Rose'll want to use Lily to her advantage once she finds out that Scorpius is dating her, and that'll make things more than a little interesting. Let me know._

_Al_

_P.S. Why on _earth_ did you agree to streak through the Great Hall when you lose? When you design a bet to lose you're not supposed to agree to do something humiliating. I'm starting to think this'll work, and, as much as I'd enjoy watching you embarrass yourself, I don't get what you were thinking..._

* * *

><p><em>Al,<em>

_I was tempted to say no, I'm not gonna lie, because this is the first I've heard from you about anything! If Clarice wasn't keeping me updated I'd go mad. Anyway, it looks like there is a reason you're a Slytherin after all; this is positively diabolical. I don't think you should tell Lily that I know she's getting involved, though. It'll be much more fun if she hears from Scorpius, and then later from Rose, and then decides for herself what to do. I'm not sure who she should work for, so we'll let her figure it out. Anyway, give Scorpius my blessing, and don't forget: he can't know about the bet with Rose or this'll never work._

_James_

_P.S. Desperate times call for desperate measures. If I hadn't been prepared to risk something big, neither of them would've been tempted to do it. This makes it look like I honestly believe they could never win, so they both jumped on the opportunity to prove me wrong. Plus, don't think I'm not working on a way to get out of it._

* * *

><p>With James' blessing, Scorpius went to talk to Lily the very next day at breakfast.<p>

He approached the Gryffindor table quite easily, and spotted her at once. Her straight, bright red hair was visible from accross the hall, but was not out of place amongst several of her relatives who were sitting around her.

"Lily," he asked quietly upon reaching her, "Can I have a word?"

She eyed him carefully before saying, "Oh, alright."

She stood up and followed him into the Entrance Hall.

"What?" she asked the moment the door had closed.

"I need a favor," he began.

"Scorpius Malfoy needs a favor from _me_?" she questioned.

"Yes," he said, "I need you to pretend to be my girlfriend."

She gaped at him.

"You see, I have a bet with James going, so I need to make Weasley," there was no question as to which Weasley he meant, "fall in love with me by the end of the year, so I need you to pretend to date me, and then go on about me to everyone, especially Weasley, to make her jealous, and-"

He stopped because Lily had begun to laugh. She was laughing so hard her ribs hurt.

"So this is why you two've been getting along so well! You have _got_ to be joking!"

"No," he said irritabely, "I'm not!"

It took her a moment to stop laughing, after which she fixed him with a calculating look, "Alright," she said slowly, "I'll help you. On _one_ condition."

"Name it," he said quickly.

"Your friend, Peter Goyle," she began.

"Yeah," he said slowly. He didn't like where this was going.

"Mention me. Not obviously, but just talk about me every now and again. And, of course, if we're fake-dating I have to hang out with you and your friends occasionally, so..."

"I get it, I get it," he said gloomily. Honestly, as if the bet wasn't enough, now he was gonna be forced to play match-maker for Lily Potter?

"So do we have a deal?" she asked, smirking in a way that reminded Scorpius of James.

"Uh, no," he said, "How about this. I won't tell Peter you like him and I won't put in a _bad_ word for you. And I'll make sure that when we hang out, he's there. But, I'm not mentioning you or putting in a good word for you, or whatever. Fair enough?"

She eyed him. "Fine. Deal."

"Excellent."

"So, when are we gonna start this?" she asked as he led her back into the hall.

"How about _now_," he said. They were passing the Ravenclaw table, where he saw Rose and Clarice sitting. Perfect.

He raised his voice just slightly, and he saw Rose look out of the corner of her eye as he spoke. "So, Lily, do you wanna go to Hogsmead with me this weekend?"

"Well," she said, her voice raised to match his. As he watched her he realized he'd chosen well. She was pretending to consider, and as she did so he noticed how fabulous an actress she was. Yes, she'd been the right choice. "Sure. Why not?"

She bounded forward and kissed him on the cheek before he'd realized what was happening, before bounding away.

As she left she whispered in his ear, "I don't half-ass thing," winking as she re-joined the Gryffindors.

Oh yes, Lily Potter had been the best possible choice.

* * *

><p>Rose was pacing in her bedroom, Clarice watching her from the bed. Her curly red hair was a mess from the number of times she'd run her hand through it in frustration, her hazel eyes were narrowed in suspicion, and her ears were red in agitation.<p>

"I thought I was making progress!" she nearly shrieked.

"Sh!" Clarice begged, "He could be in your common room!"

Rose sank onto the bed beside Clarice, thinking.

"Well," she said slowly, "This could be a good thing, right? I mean, now that he's 'taken' I can up the flirting, up the condescending, challenging attitude, and he'll be twice as tempted because he can't have me!" A smirk was starting to form on her lips, "And, I can get Lily to help me! She didn't seem too sure about going with him, so I can _definitely_ get her on my side, we're _family_ after all."

Clarice was listening to Rose, her brown furrowed in concentration. Did Lily know about the bet, or was Scorpius using her without her knowledge. She supposed Lily _had_ to know; Albus and James would never have let Scorpius use her otherwise. Of course, if that was true, then she might not work for Rose. She might not even know about the bet with Rose, since Scorpius didn't know. The situation puzzled her, but she supposed there was no harm in trying to get Lily's help. She would just have to make sure Lily didn't let anything slip regarding James' bet with Scorpius.

As Rose paced and plotted, her evil smile growing wider each minute, Clarice made a plan of her own. She would write to James and find out what was going on.

* * *

><p><em>Dear James,<em>

_I miss you too, but I've got plenty to do what with N.E.W.T.s and with helping Rose with the bet. Speaking of, a recent development has occurred that could be really good or really bad. Scorpius is taking Lily to Hogsmead, I'm assuming to make Rose jealous or whatever. I'm sure you know about this (and if you don't I'm sure heads are gonna roll, Slytherin ones, to be exact), but I was wondering if Lily knows about your bet with Scorpius _and_ your bet with Rose, or just your bet with Scorpius. Rose wants to convince Lily to help her, and I'm inclined to say that's a good idea, but I don't want to give anything away, so I thought I'd ask._

_I hope that things are going well at the bank and that you haven't blown anything up since the last time you wrote._

_Much love,_

_Clarice_

* * *

><p><em>Clarice,<em>

_No, no explosions yet, but it's still early in the year. Anyway, I did know about Scorpius' plan to ask Lily out, and Lily knows about the bet with Scorpius, but she doesn't know I have a bet going with Rose, yet. I was actually hoping Rose would enlist Lily's help, but I didn't want to warn Lily because I think this'll all be much more interesting if she decideds who to help and to what extent herself. She has enough sense to keep quiet about the bet with Scorpius when Rose talks to her; she is related to _me_, after all._

_Don't study too hard, it's only October, for pity's sake. __I'm sorry I can't come down there for the Hogsmead trip this weekend, but I've been talked into watching Peter for Teddy and Vic while they go out to look at wedding rings. I'll try and get down there for the next one (just before the Christmas holiday, right?), and if not, I'll see you at Christmas._

_More love,_

_James_

* * *

><p>The day of the Hogsmead trip arrived, and Rose was fully ready. She and Clarice made a circut of all the shops before stopping in the Three Broomsticks, where they found Lily and Scorpius sitting at a table with Al, Peter Goyle, Katherine Zabini, and Olivia Wood. They were all joking and laughing, each clutching a butter beer.<p>

Rose and Clarice sat at the bar, and watched. It looked like the group was just breaking up. They got lucky, Scorpius was going with Al and Peter to Weasleys Wizard Wheezes, Katherine and Olivia were leaving for the day, and Lily, after kissing Scorpius on the cheek, was heading towards the bar.

"What do you want?" she asked as she sat down beside Rose.

"Excuse me?" Rose feigned innocence.

"You were staring and me. What do you want?"

"Your help," Rose said.

Lily rolled her eyes, "With what?"

"James and I have a bet going that I can't make Malfoy fall in love with me by the end of the year. No one knows about it but Clarice, James, and now you, and I was wondering if you'd help me, since apparently you and Malfoy are going out now." The distaste in her voice at the thought of dating Scorpius was evident.

Lily thought for a fraction of a second, before smirking. She'd known James was smart, but _this_ smart? It was a beautiful trick. Whether it worked out and they both fell for each other remained to be seen, but even if it didn't work, it looked like it was gonna be one hell of a show. She was actually quite glad she got to be involved.

"Well," she said, "Sure, why not? What do you need?"

"Well, you're dating Mafloy, so listen, it'd be great if you pitched a few fits and pretended that you thought he was in love with me, and then you broke up with him and publically accused him of liking me."

Lily furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, "And what exactly would that do?"

"Isn't that how it always happens in the stories?" Rose asked, "The hero doesn't realize he's in love with the heroine until his friends or his current girlfriend accuse him of it? It'll put the idea into his head and then he'll spend so much time thinking about why it would come accross that way and if it's true or not that, if he hasn't already, he'll start to fall in love with me! And then, there I'll be, just waiting for him. While you're going out I'll be friendly and I'll tease him, and then when you break it off I'll be the first thing he sees, and combined with your accusations he'll fall head over heals!"

Lily smirked, "You're positively diabolical."

"I like to win," Rose shrugged, "So, what do you say?"

"Well..." Lily thought. If she helped Rose, that'd mean she'd stop helping Malfoy, and he did ask for her help first, but Rose was her _cousin_, and Scorpius' plan clearly wasn't working anyway cause Rose didn't seem the least bit jealous, disgusted, definitely, but not in the jealous way, more in the 'what the hell are you thinking dating Malfoy?' way. "Okay. I'll help you out."

"Excellent," Rose smirked, looking between Clarice and Lily.

Her choice in accomplices had been _perfect_.

**So, there we have chapter three! I'm interested to see what everyone thinks about the level of involvement James, Lily, Al, and Clarice are having as well as what you all think about Rose and Scorpius' respective plans. Next chapter we'll see the drama with Lily unfold, and possibly the Ravenclaw/Slytherin Quidditch match.**

**XOXO**

**GossipGirlHere**


	4. Your Weasley

**Thank you so much for all of the lovely reviews! It really helps me get updates out quicker. I've never been able to update a story as quickly as I'm updating this one because I've been so inspired by the reviews. So, without further ado, I give you "_Your_ Weasley". Enjoy!**

Lily began following Rose's orders immediately, but found it a bit tricky. She wasn't actually dating Scorpius, though Rose, of course, did not know that, so she couldn't drop hints the way Rose wanted her to. However, she was still able to plant the appropriate ideas in his head.

Scorpius hadn't just wanted a fake girlfriend to go out with occassionally, he wanted one he could be seen with all the time, which suited Lily just fine. She was actually starting to like him, not in a romantic way, more in a 'my brother's best mate isn't actually a total douche' type way. Overall, she was very pleased with the arrangement, as she saw _plenty_ of Peter Goyle and she was having fun messing with Scorpius' head, a process she began the Monday after the Hogsmead trip.

She was eating breakfast with Scorpius at the Slytherin table. None of his friends were there yet, so she siezed her opportunity. She noticed him looking at Rose, who was at the Ravenclaw table talking to Andrew Davies. Rose noticed him looking and, with a small movement of the head, flipped her hair casually in his direction in a very nonchalent way, and laughed at whatever Davies had just said. Scorpius was fixing Rose with a calculating stare, and Lily siezed her chance.

"You know, despite your best efforts, she seems pretty indifferent. You seem more interested in what she's doing than she is in what you're doing..."

"Meaning?"

"Well, you spend all your time watching her, and when she's not around your always thinking about her."

"I am not!"

"Are too," Lily smirked. Scorpius was getting worked up and she was really enjoying it, "I mean, when you're not thinking about how to beat her at N.E.W.T.s or on Quidditch pitch, your thinking about how to make her fall in love with you, which looks pretty desperate from where I'm sitting."

Scorpius was seething, "You know it's just for the bet. Why else would I want Weasley to fall in love with me?"

"I don't know, Scorpius, you tell me. I mean, you always seem thrilled after an evening of talking to her. Just a few minutes ago you were going on and on about how impressed she was when you came up with a legitamate argument against her concerning Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration or whatever the hell it was."

"That was only because it means I'm making progress," he said through gritted teeth.

Lily smirked, "You seem to be protesting just a _little_ too much. If it was really just about the bet it wouldn't work you up so much."

"Shut it, Potter!"

"Ah, ah, ah," she said, shaking her head, "Have you forgotten your manners. You need me, after all, to make Rosie jealous, though _why_ you're trying to make her jealous is still debatable."

Scorpius stood up and said shortly, "I'll see you at lunch," before leaving the Great Hall. He passed Peter and Al walking in on his way out, but didn't dare say anything to Al in front of Peter.

He made his way to the library, as he had his first period free and wanted to revise his potions essay in peace, but as he set to work he found it increasingly difficult to concentrate. Of course, his behavior would naturally make an outsider think that he had a thing for Weasley, if they were paying enough attention, but Lily knew what was going on. She was just trying to irritate him because there was _no_ way that she would actually think he liked Weasley. It was absurd. Impossible. Stupid. It was true, Lily was no Ravenclaw, but no one could be _that_ thick.

He was so agitated by these thoughts that he wasn't even _attempting_ to work anymore, and was therefore watching the door absentmindedly when it opened and _she_ walked in, red curls bouncing, a smile playing on her lips. He felt a smile stretch accross his face of it's own accord, something that would've freaked him out if he hadn't written it off as a natural instinct due to the bet. Muscle memory, that was all it was. He'd been making himself smile every time he saw her, and now his body was just doing the work for him. Yes, that was definitely it.

"Malfoy," she smiled, sitting down accross from him.

"Weasley," he inclined his head.

They still called each other by their last names, but it had become a gesture of familiarity rather than hatred.

"Doing the potions essay?" she questioned. "I finished mine last night."

"I did too, I'm just checking it over," he replied.

"Probably a good idea. Potions has never been a good subject for you, has it? Wasn't that the only E you got during the O.W.L.s?"

Scorpius scowled. She was putting on the air of not remembering, when he knew she bloody well remembered exactly which subject had cost him scores equal to hers.

"Well, I'm improving now, aren't I? Or did I misremember and _not_ get a better grade than you on the last essay?" he smirked.

Her eyes narrowed. Only a week before she'd told him he'd never be able to get a better grade than her on a potions essay, and eager as always to prove her wrong, he'd dont just that.

Even as she searched for a comeback she felt satisfied with herself. Never in the last six years that they'd been competing for scores had he ever beaten her at potions. This seemed undeniable proof that her plan was working, and what with Lily working her magic, Rose was confident that she'd have Scorpius in the palm of her hand by Christmas time.

Rather than retorting she shrugged and began work on her arithmancy assignment. After a moment she said calmly, "You know, I honestly think that this theory is outdated, don't you?"

"Hm?" he asked, looking up and trying to hide his irritation. He'd finally been making progress on his essay.

"This theory," she held her book out to show him, "I don't think it's really necessary anymore, now that we have Hallofax's chart, do you? Oh, wait," she smirked, "I forgot, you dropped arithmancy after fifth year, didn't you? Well, I guess it was too hard for you, and, after all, you needed more time to devote to your potions."

Scorpius said nothing as she returned to her book, irritated as now he had _another_ thing to research today. She'd expect him to be fully ready to discuss Hallofax's chart or whatever the hell it was she'd been going on about by the next week. He barely supressed a groan.

Rose could see his irritation, and knew what it would lead to. By the next week he'd be ready to discuss the theory with her, and would have chosen the oppinion opposite to her own, whether he believed it or not. She smirked. First of all, though she couldn't say why exactly, she loved being able to get him to do things just to impress her. It gave her a sense of power over him that she quite enjoyed. Also, if he was researching Hallofax's chart he _wouldn't_ be studying for his N.E.W.T.s, which meant it'd be easier than usual to beat him. The longer she kept him occupied the further behind her he would get. Of course, she wouldn't insult his intelligence by saying that his grades were slipping, they just weren't getting any better, and hers were. She was almost tempted to prolong the bet, as when she won, she was now certain she would, he'd double his efforts to beat her at everything and, whatever she might say, she knew he was a worthy rival and capable of beating her with the right motivation, and humilation of the kind she was going to inflict was certainly motivation. She almost felt bad for him. Now that he wasn't such an arrogant toerag she was becoming rather fond of him. She shook herself mentally. These thoughts did her no good. In fact, she would consider them quite unhealthy.

She looked up from her charts and tables and watched him, his brow furrow in concentration, his steely gray eyes were focused, his blond hair, nearly white blond, falling in his face. She'd never really noticed how long his finger's were, but as they moved his quill accross the page she watched their graceful movements, mezmorized. She mentally slapped herself. Now was not the time. Malfoy was only getting nicer because _she_ was reforming him. He wasn't _actually_ nice and he certainly wasn't attractive. Rose knew that last bit was a blatant lie, but she wasn't about to become a member of his fan club.

Scorpius sensed her watching him, but continued working without comment, a small smirk playing on his lips. She was transfixed by his every movement, he was aware, and he was more that happy with this development. He guessed she was probably trying to figure out what Lily saw in him.

Her gaze remained on him for the rest of the hour, and he continued to purposefully not look. Rose had decided about ten minutes into her staring that she might as well make use of her current inability to work. She would continue to look at him until he looked back, and then say nothing, only flash a smirk. Might as well give him a taste of what he was missing by going out with Lily. She'd asked Lily to meet her there at the end of the period on the way to her next class, and Rose had high hopes of remaining in this position long enough for Lily to appear.

Thankfully, Lily was on time. She swept into the library and saw Rose, eyes glued to Scorpius, and Scorpius, eyes glued to his essay. Deciding to have a little fun with them both, she smirked and sat down next to him, kissing him on the cheek. He looked up and smirked, putting his arm around her.

"Scorpius," she began, in a falsely casual voice, behind which she'd carefully laced suspicion, "What are you doing here?"

"Working," he said, slightly puzzled. Rose was trying not to beam at Lily's clever ploy.

"And what's _she_ doing here?" she pressed.

"Why don't you asked her?" he said as carelessly as he could. What was she playing at?

"We talked about this this morning!"

"Yes, and I thought I'd squashed your suspicion _then_," he said through gritted teeth.

She sighed, a tad overdramatically, but both Rose and Scorpius wrote it off as her purposeful acting for them, "I guess. It's just that, well, you're so amazing, and I don't know what I did to deserve you. Sometimes I get insecure, especially when someone as pretty and talented as Rose is around."

"She'll never live up to you," he smirked, "But I've got to get to my next class. I'll see you later."

"Bye," she smiled as he walked away.

As he made his way to ancient runes he breathed a sigh of relief. Whatever Lily'd been up to this morning had clearly been a set up for their conversation in the library, which she'd played off rather well. It was the perfect idea, after all. He was sort of embarrassed that he hadn't thought of it. He was ready to bet that even as he walked to his next class Rose was wondering what about her behavior would making Lily think he liked her and if it was true or not.

Rose was, of course, thinking no such thing. As soon as the door to the library closed she whispered, "That was _brilliant!_ Bloody brilliant! What do you have next?"

"Herbology," she replied.

"I'll walk you," Rose beamed, "I'm free again this period, and I fancied a trip down to Hagrid's. It's not strictly on the way, but I'd much rather discuss what happened just now. Also, what happened at breakfast? I saw him get mad and storm off."

As they walked down, Lily recounted the conversation she and Scorpius had had at breakfast as accurately as she could without giving anything away. Rose was able to get the gist and was positively beaming with satisfaction by the time they reached the greenhouses.

"Listen," Rose said, "Try and keep this going for at least another two or three weeks. Try and make it to the next Hogsmead visit and then break up with him publically the day before or something."

"I'll try," Lily hedged. It all depended on how long Scorpius wanted a fake girlfriend.

"Is going out with him really that terrible?" Rose teased, smirking, "Wait, let me answer that: yes, yes it is."

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Ha, ha," Rose laughed sarcastically, "Very funny, Lils. Go to class or Uncle Neville'll give you detention." They both laughed at that, as, despite his many attempts not to have favorites, they'd never recieved a detention from him before.

* * *

><p>It was late, Scorpius was tired, he still had another two inches to write, and, on top of that, he needed to find time to research arithmancy!<p>

"I wish you wouldn't be in such a fowl mood," Al complained, "And if you must, couldn't you go be surly in your own common room?"

"No," Scorpius said irritabely, "I'm settled now, and Weasley was there studying before."

"I wonder which one," Al said sarcastically.

Scorpius, however, was so tired and irrated that he didn't pick up on the sarcasm and snapped, "_My_ Weasley, you idoit, which other-"

But he broke off at the look Al was giving him. "What?"

"Your Weasley?" Al raised his eyebrow, "_Your_ Weasley," he was starting to snigger, "Oh, so Rose is _your_ Weasley now, is she?"

He was rolling around on the couch, laughing.

"I just meant the one to whom I always refer," Scorpius replied with dignity.

"_Sure_," Al said, his voice riddled with sarcasm, "Sure, because we all feel possessive of our supposed arch-nemeses."

"Shut up," Scorpius muttered, "I'm tired, and I've still got a hell of a lot of of work to do."

"Can't work in your common room cause it distracts you, does it, having _your _Weasley working there? Maybe the bet has nothing to do with you wanting her to fall for you, hm?"

"Sh!" Scorpius looked around, but they were, predictably, alone. He noted irritabely that of _course_ they were alone; it was one in the morning.

"What are you so embarrassed of, huh Scorpius?" Al's smirk was positively evil. He was rather enjoying the spectacle his brother had so cleverly designed.

"Having such a git for a best mate," Scorpius shot back.

"Alright, you tell yourself that..."

* * *

><p>November passed quickly, and between accusations from Lily that continued on Rose's orders and Al's frequent habit of refering to Rose as "<em>your<em> Weasley" at least five times a day, Scorpius was starting to think he was the only person who _didn't _reckon he fancied Rose, and even he was starting to doubt himself.

The only thing that improved his mood slightly was that Rose seemed to be falling into his trap, and by the end of November he didn't even have to research random things every night to impress her, they were able to just talk; about anything. It was a little weird at first, discussing things with her in a non-challenging way (not all things, test scores and Quidditch were still very competative), but they were able to peacefully have the same opinion about things without either of them getting bored, and when their opinions differed it was no longer because he was doing it on purpose. He saw this as positive because it meant that she saw him now as a legitamate friend, rather than just entertainment and someone to torment (he'd been feeling a bit like a court jester before).

Despite his new fondness for Rose, which was increasingly frightening to him, he was determined to catch the snitch before her in the Slytherin/Ravenclaw match, which would take place the Saturday before the Christmas holiday, and the day before the last Hogsmead visit of the term.

It seemed to both Scorpius and Rose that more was riding on this game than Quidditch, as if that hadn't been enough. Rose hadn't caught the snitch before Scorpius since fourth year and she was anxious, especially with his recent improvement in potions, to beat him, and he was just as anxious to keep hold of his title as the best seeker at the school. Beyond that, they each felt that if they won it would test the strength of the other's feelings for them.

The day of the match dawned bright and early, and both Rose and Scorpius were in top form. They both happened to come out from their rooms at the same time, and they almost forgot about the bet. Almost.

"Malfoy."

"Weasley."

They both walked to the portrait hole. Scorpius held the door, and she thanked him with an incline of the head.

They walked in silence, but as they reached the Great Hall, Rose stopped him at the door and said, "Well, Malfoy, good luck out there."

She extended her hand.

He took it.

"May the best seeker win."

"Oh, don't worry, she will," she smirked, walking away before he could retort.

He couldn't help chuckling slightly because he'd known all along that that would be her reply. Before, he would've been irritated by her response and would've challenged it, but now he just found it amusing. When he reached the Slytherin table he sat next to Al, who was poking moodily at his eggs. Al was one of the beaters on the team, but, unlike Scorpius, whose ego was too big to allow for such emotions, he always got nervous before matches.

Scorpius slapped him on the back as he sat down, "Don't worry. You'll be fine. You always are."

"Yeah, yeah," Albus said glumly, taking a bite of egg. "What's got you in such a good mood."

"Just something Weasley said," Scorpius shrugged, pouring himself some pumkin juice.

Albus rolled his eyes, "_Your_ Weasley?" he smirked. Taunting Scorpius about his new-found appreciation of Rose always put him in a better mood.

Knowing this, Scorpius decided, for the benefit of the team, not to argue, and simply said, "Whatever floats your boat, Al," before taking a bite of sausage.

Meanwhile, Rose was selecting pieces of bacon from the platter nearest her, still smirking. She was sitting next to Andrew Davies, the captain of the Ravenclaw team and its keeper.

"What's got you in such a good mood?" he asked, "You hate playing Slytherin."

"I'm feeling confident," she smirked, "I think I can beat him this year."

"Him?" he asked.

"Malfoy of course!" she explained, rolling her eyes.

"Ah," he said.

After a few minutes they assembled the team and left the hall, albeit a little early, but Davies prefered early to late. Noticing their exit, Katherine Zabini, the Slytherin captain, collected her team and led them out of the hall as well.

In their two seperate changing rooms, the players put on their robes, got their gear, polished their broom handles, and listened to their captains' final words of wisdom.

When 11:00 arrived, the captains led the way and the teams lined up facing each other. Rose and Scorpius looked at each other, and for the first time on the Quidditch pitch, didn't glare. Their looks were challenging as they waited for the whistle, their cue to take to the sky, but there was no hatred, only a fierce desire to win.

The whistle blew.

**Cliffhanger! (Sort of). So, this chapter's longer than any of the others I've posted, but like I said at the beginning I was feeling inspired thanks to all of your FABULOUS reviews, so keep it up.**

**XOXO**

**GossipGirlHere**


	5. Victory

**Another chapter for you all! This one was a bit harder to write (firstly, I've never been good a writing Quidditch matches, and then I just had a bit of trouble getting my ideas written down), but I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. Enjoy!**

Scorpius was in his element. Soaring around the pitch, one ear open, listening to the commentator, all of his senses alive and in use. His eyes narrowed in concentration, picking up every detail, single-focused. For the first time in months he forgot about the bet, he forgot about beating Rose, he forgot about everything. It was just him, his broom, and the snitch.

Slytherin was down, but only by about twenty points, nothing to give him any alarm, when he saw it. The flash of gold that was his only priority. It was hovering near the Hufflepuff stands, and he shot like a bullet accross the pitch, not paying any attention to the chasers he'd cut off or the beaters' swinging bats. He looked around for Rose while maintaining a steady course towards the tiny, golden ball. She had seen him move, and she was closer. He pushed his broom, harder than he'd ever pushed before, but she was pushing too. Out of the corner of his eye he saw her, arm outstretched, heading for the snitch just as quickly as he was.

They were hurtling towards the snitch, towards each other, but neither wavered their course, as each knew that doing so would cost them the game. Scorpius kept his arm outstretched, even as he braced himself for the collision. Several people screamed, including Rose, as they collided, full force. And suddenly, Scorpius was falling. They were at least fifty feet up, something he hadn't bothered to consider before and was now regretting. He grabbed Rose's wrist, just for something to hold on to, and scrunched his eyes shut, cursing his stupidity for leaving his wand in the changing rooms.

However, the crash he'd been expecting did not occur. Suddenly, they stopped falling, but were floating to the ground. They landed quite peacefully, both looking around in confusion, trying to see their savior. It was only after a moment that Scorpius saw Neville, standing up in the teacher's stands, his wand still pointed at them, his arm still outstretched. Scorpius breathed a sigh of relief, and as he made to let go of Rose's wrist, he realized what her hand was balled around.

His heart sank. After all that, she'd caught it.

She was positively radiant in her joy as she held it up to the crowd. The entire stadium thundered with applause. Before Scorpius realized what was happening, he'd been pushed aside as the Ravenclaw team descended upon Rose.

And Rose was loving it all. After years of failing, she'd done it, just when it had really mattered. The crowd was cheering, her teammates were laughing and hugging her, and she was reveling in her glory. Suddenly a pair of strong arms lifted her off the ground.

As she swung around she saw a familiar flop of brown hair and a familiar set of blue eyes.

"Andrew! Put me down!" she laughed, hugging him.

"That was _brilliant_!" he cried as he set her on her feet, "Absolutely brilliant!"

And he was kissing her. As she wrapped her arms around his neck to deepen the kiss she felt like flying. Her life was officially perfect. She'd caught the snitch, won the game, the boy she'd liked for years was kissing her, and to top it all off she'd beaten Malfoy! Malfoy! For a moment his steely gray eyes flashed before her and her breath caught.

But the moment passed, and she was looking at a pair of blue eyes: Andrew, who asked in a whisper, barely audible over the cheering crowd and their wolf-whistling teammates, "Come to Hogsmead with me, Rosie?"

Her breath caught, even as she nodded.

* * *

><p>Scorpius was pacing in the Heads' Common room, Albus and Lily watching him from one of the couches. Since Rose was at Ravenclaw tower for the post-match party, he knew they were in no danger of being barged in on, not that it mattered much to him anymore.<p>

The day had possibly been the worst of his life. He'd lost the game and now Weasley was probably closeted up with Davies somewhere having a good snog, while he paced irritabely from one end of the common room to the other.

"I thought I'd been making _progress_," he said through gritted teeth.

"Listen," Albus said reassuringly, "Rose has had a crush on the Davies bloke since, like, fifth year. She would've said 'yes' no matter _what_ she felt for you. This doesn't mean she doesn't like you."

"Anyway," Lily said, "This could be a good thing for you."

He rounded on her, "_How_? How could this _possibly_ be a good thing for me?"

"This is the perfect moment to make your move," she expalined, "Come home with us for Christmas!"

"What?" said both Scorpius and Al, confused.

"Listen, if you come stay with us for Christmas, you'll have Rose all to yourself for the entire holiday and then..." she drifted off suggestively, but Scorpius didn't need any more help.

"And then I can tell her!"

"Tell her what?" Albus asked carefully.

"Anything! I'll tell her," he searched wildly for something that would make her squirm but wasn't a blatent 'I'm into you.' "I'll tell her that he's not good enough for her."

Lily nodded approvingly.

"I won't explain it or anything, I'll just tell her quietly some time-"

"Quietly but intensely," Lily interrupted.

"Yeah, yeah," he said, waving her away with his hand, "Whatever. And then-"

"No," Lily interrupted again, "Not _whatever!_ It has to be intense, and secretive too. Then she'll start thinking all sorts of things because if you, her life-long enemy,"

"Don't you think that's a bit of an exaggeration," Albus muttered, but no one paid him any mind.

"Tells her that this bloke, Davies, isn't good enough for her, she'll start to question it, and then she'll start to wonder why you care so much, and then: BANG! She's back to falling in love with you!" Lily finished triumphantly

Scorpius and Lily were both smirking, but Al was looking puzzled.

"But wait," he said slowly, "As good a plan as that is, there's one problem." They both looked at him, "What are we going to do about Lily?"

"Me?" Lily asked.

"Of course!" Scorpius said, "Rose thinks Lily and I are an item, so we have to break up before the holidays, obviously. Thanks Al."

"Alright," Lily said slowly, "What do you say to next Friday? It's the day before term ends, so it frees you up for the holidays, but it'll be after Al asks you to come for Christmas. Fair enough?"

"Perfect," Scorpius replied.

Lily, however, didn't find the idea of the break-up 'perfect' at all. She had been giving Rose so much help that it seemed only fair to help Scorpius a bit too, so maybe she should let Scorpius break up with her in his own manner of chosing. But, on the other hand, she was helping Scorpius with the plan for over the holidays, so shouldn't she finish helping Rose and then continue to help Scorpius. She'd been enjoying playing them both for utter fools, but now she had a choice: did she let Scorpius break up with her in a caring, gentle way, or did she rage and scream at him in front of the entire school and accuse him of falling in love with Rose?

* * *

><p>Clarice was sipping her butterbeer, thoughtful as ever. The party was in full swing and Rose was the center of everyone's attention. Clarice wasn't sure what to think about the whole thing with Andrew Davies. On the one hand, he was a good bloke, and Rose had liked him for <em>ages<em>, long before this bet with James ever started, but on the other hand Clarice had begun to think that Rose was actually falling in love with Scorpius, and this thing with Davies brought everything related to the bet to a complete stand-still.

She was just contemplating writing to James when she heard a tapping sound at the nearest window. She opened it with a smile as James' owl Lynx hopped in.

She untied the letter eagerly, fed the owl a bit of popcorn, and watched as it hopped onto the arm of her chair. Closing the window with a snap she sat down and eagerly began to read.

_Clarice,_

_You're kidding! This is working out even better than I'd have thought possible. I'm contemplating writing to Al to have him invite Scorpius over for Christmas, what do you think? That way things won't deteriorate over the break. Better to strike while the iron's hot, don't you think? Or, do you think a break would be better for them just now? It's hard for me to know, not being there, and Al _never_ writes. Anway, make sure to write and tell me how the match went, I'm sure it's over by now and I'll be up for a little while longer._

_I'm planning on coming to Hogsmeade tomorrow, so write back and tell me when and where to meet you. I'm already looking forward to it._

_Love,_

_James_

Clarice beamed as she got out parchment and quill and set to writing her reply.

_James,_

_I'm glad Teddy and Vic haven't coerced you into pet-sitting again (you really ought to think about getting a dog, you spend so much time looking after Peter, it's crazy...). As it turns out, I'm free for the entire visit, so I'll meet you outside the Three Broomsticks at 11:00. Now, the reason I'm free is a little startling. Andrew Davies asked Rose out after she caught the snitch (a spectacular catch, and you know it must have been if I noticed it) and she accepted. Scorpius looked ready to throw something. Anyway, I think you should have Al invite him over for Christmas because it would give him the chance to get ahead while Rose and Davies are seperated. I'll explain more tomorrow._

_Can't wait to see you!_

_Love,_

_Clarice_

With a flick of her wand she sealed it. She walked over to the window and tied the letter to Lynx's leg before openning the window and letting him out.

As she closed the window Rose said from behind her, "James _again_? You write to him all the time! What can you possibly have to say to each other so often?"

Clarice smirked, "Wouldn't you like to know."

"On second thought, I don't think I would," Rose said with an over-dramatic wince.

Clarice rolled her eyes and said, "I see you've got away from your admirers to come and see me. I'm honored."

"Oh, shut it. Anyway, I wanted to talk to you. What do you say to walking me back to my common room?"

"Hm," Clarice pretended to think before she smiled and said, "Sure, I guess." She made an over-dramatic sigh, as if walking Rose back to her common room was sure to take too much effort.

"Great, let's go." Rose said, ignoring Clarice's antics, as she began to lead the way to the door.

Right as they reached the door Rose called back to Andrew, "Bye, Andrew! I'll see you tomorrow!"

"I'll be at the entrance to the Heads' Common Room at 10:00," he said, smiling and waving, "Night!"

"Night," she called back, smiling too.

The moment the door snapped shut Clarice said, "Okay, spill! Andrew Davies! You've liked him since, what, fourth year?"

"Fifth," Rose replied with dignity as they set off down the corridor, "It's crazy. The funny thing is that I'd been thinking all day about how it was healthy that I'd finally gotten over him, and then he kissed me and, well..."

Clarice smirked, "Forgot all about Scorpius?"

"Yeah," Rose began, before her brain caught up with her mouth, "Wait, what? What does Malfoy have to do with this? I can still win the bet with a boyfriend. Come to think of it, jealousy is a fabulous tool."

"Okay," Clarice said simply, as she knew no response was really necessary. Rose was going into monologue-mode.

"And anway, Andrew is wonderful. He's smart, and athletic, and kind, and he's not bad to look at either. Those blue eyes...And, while I've always prefered blonds, I do think-"

"Always prefered blonds?" Clarice laughed, and Rose knew why. Up until very recently she'd always prefered brunets. "And do these blonds you've always prefered also have gray eyes? Is there perhaps someone who you fancy more than Andrew? Somone, perhaps, who happens to have blond hair and gray eyes? I wonder who that would be?"

"No one," Rose said through gritted teeth, glaring so fiercely that Clarice found herself reminded of the phrase _if looks could kill_, "Got that? No one." No devilishly handsome, blond-haired, steely gray-eyed, talented, smart, athletic, Slytherin. Definitely not one of those.

"Whatever you say," Clarice said in a sing-song voice as they reached the portrait hole that led to the Heads' Common Room.

"Gillyweed," Rose muttered darkly.

"Correct!" said the small girl featured in the painting, who was gathering flowers in a field, "Go on in!"

The portrait swung open to reveal Scorpius, Al, and Lily all sitting, rather conspiratorially Rose thought, around the fireplace.

"Hey!" Rose called brightly as she and Clarice entered.

Scorpius, Al, and Lily all jumped.

"When did you get here?" Al asked quickly. Scorpius glared at him for his lack of tact.

"About two seconds ago, why?" Rose asked, rather suspicious.

"Uh, no reason," Lily said quickly, "We just thought you'd be celebrating your fabulous victory."

Scorpius glared at her, "Fine thing to say to the girl who beat your boyfriend," he muttered darkly.

Lily shrugged.

**Get psyched, cause next chapter's the Hogsmeade visit, and then it's back home for the holidays! Reviews, as always, are appreciated.**

**XOXO**

**GossipGirlHere**


	6. Checkmate

**Another chapter for you! I know it took longer to get out, but it's about 1000 words longer than normal, so I hope that makes it worth the wait. Enjoy!**

Rose awoke early the next morning. She'd asked Clarice to spend the night in her room so that she could be up early to help Rose get ready, and Clarice had agreed. However, Clarice could not have known that, at six thirty in the morning, Rose would be shaking her so hard that her entire cot, which Rose had made by transfiguring a bobby pin, shook as well.

They spent a good two hours selecting outfits for the day, and then another hour on hair and make-up, so that they weren't completely ready until nine thirty. Of course, most of that time was spent on Rose, who was more than excited about her date with Andrew, but Clarice did take some time for herself. She hadn't seen James in months, after all.

When they were finally ready they were very pleased with themselves. Rose's tight curls were left down, with only a few at the front pulled back, and they reached just below her breast. She had decided, finally, on jeans and a black turtleneck that hugged her curves in all the right ways but that would keep her warm in Hogsmeade, as it had been snowing all night. Clarice's auburn hair was pulled back into a pony tail and she too wore jeans, only rather than blue jeans, like Rose's, she'd opted for black jeans which allowed for a more colorful choice of top. She ended up wearing a thin, deep purple sweater that had a neckline similar to that on a tee-shirt.

Overall, they were both quite pleased with their appearances and all set to meet Andrew at the portrait hole at 10:00.

When they left the Heads' Common Room at exactly 10:00, Andrew was standing on the other side, smiling.

"You both look lovely," he complimented. Rose beamed. "James coming?" Andrew asked in a way that made it sound as if he already knew the answer.

"How'd you know?" Clarice asked as they set off down the corridor.

"How could he _not_?" Rose laughed, "You're practically glowing."

Clarice smiled, but couldn't help blushing a little.

They made it down to the Entrance Hall where Filtch was checking off the names of students who had permission to go to Hogsmeade. Once they'd been cleared by Filtch to continue, they walked together into the villiage, but seperated at the Three Broomsticks. Clarice went into the pub to wait for James while Andrew and Rose continued down the high street, browsing different shops.

Rose found herself struck by how natural it felt to talk to Andrew. Of course, they'd been friends since they'd both been named prefects in fifth year, and they'd known each other before that, but she'd been worried that going out with him would change the easy way they talked to each other, but was happy when it did not. They joked and laughed and the only real difference between the way they were now and the way they'd been before was that they held hands as they walked from shop to shop, sometimes just looking in the windows and other times going in and browsing.

Rose found her happiness almost doubled when they went into Weasleys Wizard Wheezes and she saw out of the corner of her eye Scorpius and Lily. Scorpius was staring at her and Davies, and after a moment Lily hit him on the arm and Rose smiled, sure that Lily was accusing him of having feelings for her, Rose.

Lily was, in fact, saying no such thing.

"Stop staring," she hissed as they looked at boxes of extendable ears.

"I'm _not_ staring," he hissed back.

"Yes, you are," she said, "And it just makes you look desperate."

"I'm trying to get her to notice me."

"She was noticing you before."

Scorpius muttered something dark, but incoherant before he set the box he was looking at back on the shelf, rather harder than he meant to, knocking several other boxes over in the process.

Lily rolled her eyes, "You're so worked up about this, one would almost think that you fancied her..."

"Shut up, Lils," he said through gritted teeth, privately thinking that the entire Potter family had come into being solely for the purpose of making his life hell. He was starting to wish that he hadn't taken the bet from James because the whole thing was turning out to be too exhausting and, though he'd never admit it, emotionally taxing. Too much trouble all together. Why hadn't he just used his brain a little bit and realized how bad an idea this was? If he'd just walked away he could be sitting at The Three Broomsticks with a girl who actually liked him, instead of wandering around, spying on Weasley, with Lily Potter. Well, too late now.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Clarice and James had found themselves a table at the Three Broomsticks and were each clutching a butterbeer as Clarice filled James in on the details of everything that had happened.<p>

When she'd finished she said, "And now I'm not sure what to do because, well, Rose has fancied Andrew for _years_, and I don't want to mess that up for her. I'd feel terrible if we ruined their relationship for this bet..."

"Listen," James said, leaning forward, his eyes shining with intensity, "When I started this I just thought it'd be fun and would, if nothing else, finally put a stop to their attempts to kill each other, but now things are different. They clearly are falling in love with each other! All the evidence points to it! And, now that we've started this there's no turning back. We have to see this through to the end. Davies might be around for now, but I'm convinced he's only temporary. Rose might've liked him once, but you said so yourself, she was just starting to get over him. Plus, we both know he's too boring for her and she'll be begging for someone more exciting within a week!"

Clarice looked at him carefully, considering his words. He had a point about Davies, she'd acknowledge, and he was right about one other thing: now that they'd started there was no turning back.

"Alright," she said, "What are your plans for Christmas?"

"_So_ glad you asked," he smirked.

* * *

><p>The last week of term passed in a flurry of tests and essays, and Rose and Scorpius had little time to spend coming up with their strategies. They hardly ever spoke, but studied in amicable silence in their common room. It wasn't until Thursday evening that Rose found out that Scorpius was going to the Potter's for Christmas.<p>

They both were studying for their Defense Against the Dark Arts test, which they had the very next day. Rose was sitting on the floor in front of the fire, her notes spread out around her, encircling her. Scorpius was in one of the armchairs with his notes and books strewn all over the nearest table.

At about eleven Rose snapped her book shut and said irritabely, "I can't do this anymore. I'm exausted."

"Giving up, Weasley?" Scorpius asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No," she said with dignity as she began to get her notes in order, "Quitting while I'm ahead."

"And what makes you so sure you're ahead?"

"I'm always ahead of you."

She smirked, and could've sworn she saw him supress a chuckle.

A few more moments passed before Rose spoke again.

"What are you doing for the holidays?"

The question surprised Scorpius slightly, as he wasn't aware that, now that Rose had Davies, she would care much what he was doing. He had actually hoped to catch her off guard by turning up at the Burrow with the Potters, unannounced. "I'm actually going to the Potters," he said after a second of thought.

"Oh," she said quietly, "Well, I guess I'll see you at the Burrow then..."

"Probably," he said. He knew that they were both thinking the same thing. Scorpius had gone to the Potters for only one other Christmas, back in their third year. He and Rose had, predictabely, gotten into a blazing row over some stupid thing that neither of them could remember, but what they both remembered with clarity was that it was the first time they'd both said aloud to each other that they hated one another. Needless to say that Scorpius never went back for Christmas. The incident had never weighed on either of their consciences until now.

* * *

><p>The evening of the last night of term found Lily and Scorpius sitting alone in the Heads' Common Room with Rose in her bedroom with Clarice. Lily had come to the decision that she would let Scorpius break up with her in his own way, as she felt she had helped Rose quite enough. Rose thought Lily was going to break up with Scorpius that evening, but Lily intended on reporting to Rose that she hadn't been able to because Scorpius had acted first.<p>

"Now remember," Scorpius said, "Be teary, but not too teary."

Lily nodded despite knowing full well that she could not be teary.

"Tell her that I was horribly sorry to have kept things going for so long when I'm not really in love with you anymore, but that I didn't want to cause you pain. Also, when you asked if there was someone else I said that it was someone who'd never think of me. Got it?"

"Got it," Lily said.

"Alright, that's it then. Feel free to add a little embellishment if you want, you know what will work on Rose better than I do," he said offhandedly.

"Rose?" Lily picked up on the change of name immediately.

Scorpius didn't say anything. Really, there was nothing to say.

"So _your_ Weasley has now become _Rose_, has she?" Lily smirked.

Scorpius groaned. Al had wasted no time in telling Lily about the _your_ Weasley incident, and Lily had taken to calling Rose that in his presence as well whenever an opportunity arose.

"Just go do your job, Potter," he growled.

"Fine, fine," she said loftily, standing up.

She made a point of conjuring fake tears into her eyes so that he could see she was following his instructions, and then went into Rose's room, a dramatic entrance that involved sobbing and falling to the floor in agony.

However, the moment the door closed Lily sprang up and walked over to where Rose and Clarice were waiting on the bed, both looking amused and impressed.

"Nice performance," Clarice said appreciatively.

"Thanks," Lily beamed.

"So?" Rose promted, "How did it go?"

"He broke up with _me_!" Lily said in outrage.

"What?" Both Clarice and Rose were astonished.

"I know! He told me that he was sorry he'd kept it up so long when he wasn't in love with me, and that he never meant to hurt me, and when I asked him if there was someone else he just said it was someone who'd never think of him. And he also said he hoped that, after I've had some time, we could be friends again and he said that he knew I'd find someone who could really love me the way I deserved to be loved." Lily was fairly proud of that last additoin and knew it would work wonders.

Rose was gaping. She'd never expected Scorpius would break up with Lily in such a kind way, if she'd even expected him to break up with her at all. And who was this other person who'd never think of him? Did he mean _her_? Oh, that would just be _perfect_! But, she had to be sure, there was no way of knowing just yet.

"Well," Rose said, "That'll be my mission over Christmas. To find out if I'm the person he was talking about."

"Well, surely you must be!" Clarice said, "Who else could he mean? No girl in the entire school can resist him except you!"

"It could be a girl already in a committed relationship," Rose mused, "Like you."

"Me?" Clarice began to laugh, "You think Scorpius Malfoy fancies _me_? You must be joking!"

"I didn't mean you literally, I meant someone like you," Rose said impatiently, "The point is I've got to know, I've got to be sure." She could taste victory, she was so close she could almost touch it. She was now absolutely sure that the holiday would give her just the opportunity she needed, and she suddenly couldn't wait to go home the next day.

* * *

><p>When Rose arrived home with Hugo via-floo powder, she was fawned over by her mother and father, who were proud as ever of her grades and of her victory over Scorpius in the Quidditch match. Her cousins Dominique, Lucy, and Molly gushed over her relationship with Andrew Davies, and she in turn gushed over her cousin Victoire's upcoming wedding to Teddy. The atmosphere was, overall, very congratulatory and rather smug and she was enjoying it immensely. During the holiday season the entire family spent every day at the Burrow, only returning to their homes at night, and as a result her entire family was witness to her triumphs.<p>

Her brother, Hugo, also got a bit of the glory, for which she was glad as she knew that it was sometimes hard for Hugo to be Rose's younger brother. However, Hugo was an infinitely better flier than she would ever be. He was the Gryffindor keeper, a fact which always made her father as proud as could be.

Overall, there nothing to eclipse her joy at being the amongst her family, all of whom seemed to have become yet more successful and talented since they'd last been together. She spent the days leading up to Christmas playing Quidditch with her cousins and Scorpius, going shopping in Diagon Alley, helping Victoire and Teddy with the wedding plans, and, most surprising to everyone in her family except those who knew the cause of it, playing a game of chess every evening after dinner with Scorpius.

The ritual had started the second day of the holiday. She'd beaten Albus at a game fairly quickly, as she'd always been better at it than he was, though she still wasn't good enough to beat Hugo. And as she asked the room at large who would take her challenge, she was pleased, though not surprised, that Scorpius offered to play her. After a heated game that lasted over an hour and a half she won, but it had been close, coming down to her king, bishop, and pawn against his king and knight.

Of course, Scorpius could not and would not take the loss lying down, and challenged her to a rematch the following evening, and so the cycle began.

And that is how Rose found herself face to face with Scorpius accross the chess board on Christmas evening, just after Christmas dinner.

As they sat down and organized their pieces, they alternated which color they were each evening, Rose said, "Thank you for the Christmas present." They'd also come to the understanding over the last week that they would only speak to each other from accross the chessboard or during Quidditch games in which they had to communicate. Despite their silence during the rest of the day, they spoke continuously during their games, which lasted over an hour each evening.

Before Scorpius could answer, Ron, who had been passing to sit down, said, "What present?" Ron had not been sure whether to approve of these chess matches or not. On the one hand, he loved watching his Rosie beat Scorpius at everything, and chess offered her another opportunity to do so, but, on the other hand, he soon learned from their conversations that they'd formed some sort of odd half-friendship, and he didn't like that at all.

"He gave me a book on the history and development of Arithmancy," Rose replied without looking up from the board, where the game had already begun.

"Oh," Ron said, and as he couldn't come up with a good reason to disapprove of the gift, he sat down next to George on one of the many couches in the Burrow's enlarged sitting room in a huff.

"You're welcome," Scorpius replyed quietly, "And thank you for the present as well."

"No problem."

They played in silence for a moment, and only after all of the other people in the room, a good two dozen others, were talking animatedly and rather loudly did Scorpius say quietly, "What did Davies get you for Christmas?"

Rose's eyebrows shot up. She had not been expecting him to ask so directly about Davies. "A broomstick care kit."

"But, you already have one of those, don't you?" Scorpius only added the question at the end to seem polite. He'd seen her using the kit several times that year in the Common Room and even before that when their paths had crossed at the Burrow or at the Potters' during summers.

"Yes," she said airly, urging her rook to retreat out of the path of his bishop, "But it's the thought that counts."

"So they say," he said, rather more sardonically than he'd meant to.

"You don't believe that?" she questioned slyly, "Because I'd much rather be with someone who thinks of me and cares enough about me to get a present than with someone who doesn't care but happens to know what I do and don't own."

"Rose," he leaned forward intensley, whispering, "You can do so much better. He might be an okay bloke, but you deserve someone who loves and appreciates you, who knows you inside and out the way-the way someone else might..."

As he watched her carefully he couldn't help mentally congratulating himself. It was the first time he'd ever called her Rose to her face, and he'd started to say _I_ before switching to 'the way someone else might.' It was beautifully done, if he said so himself, and he took the widening of her eyes as positive encouragement.

Rose was shocked, but pleasantly so. He was coming apart at the seams, all because of her, and she was _so_ enjoying it. She recovered from her shock quickly, and gave him a small encouraging smile as she said, "I'm sure he doesn't know me as well as _some_ people, but I'm hoping he'll get to know me. He's everything I've ever wanted."

Scorpius took a fraction of a second to decide how to respond, whether to back off or press forward. He decided to press forward. When he spoke he was less instense than before, but still serious. "But, just because you used to want something doesn't mean you want it now, nor does it mean that it's what's best for you."

"I think I know what's best for me," she smirked, deciding to distance herself from him a bit, make _him_ come forward.

And forward he came. "But what if you don't?"

"And you do? Checkmate."

* * *

><p>"I win!" Rose said triumphanty, bursting into James' old room. He had his own flat in London, but during the holidays he went back to his parents house, and that was where Rose found him, reading a Quidditch magazine on his bed, early in the morning on December 26th.<p>

"And what is it exactly you've won?" he asked casually, still flipping through his magazine.

"The bet! I've made Scorpius fall in love with me!"

"Oh, so he's 'Scorpius' now? What happened to 'Malfoy'?" James smirked, looking up at her for the first time.

Rose scowled, "Never mind what I call him. I've _won_!"

"And just how, exactly, do you know that he's in love with you?" he asked.

"He just told me, and I quote, 'You can do so much better. He might be an okay bloke, but you deserve someone who loves and appreciates you, who knows you inside and out the way-the way someone else might...' And I swear, he was about to say 'the way _I_ do,' but he got nervous and backed off." Rose was beaming in triumph.

"And how does that prove anything?" James said, "He needs to _say_ it, directly to your face: 'I love you, Rose.'"

Rose gaped, "No! You never said anything about him having to say it directly!"

"Well I'm saying it now," he said, "He has to have realized that he's in love with you, not just a subconscious thing, like this obviously is, if this even proves he's in love with you, that is. As of now be aware that he needs to _say_ it."

Rose pouted, "Fine. He'll say it. I know he will."

"I wouldn't be too sure if I were you," James smirked, "The year's halfway over and he hasn't even acknowledged that he _likes_ you, let alone _loves _you. He can't just fancy you, you know, he has to _love_ you."

"I know," she smirked back, "And don't worry, he will."

**I'm really pleased with this chapter, and definitely enjoyed writing it! I know it was a bit longer than the other ones, but I couldn't bear to divide it into two chapters. Reviews, as always, are much loved.**

**XOXO**

**GossipGirlHere**


	7. Starting the Year with a Bang

**Another chapter for you all! Sorry it took so long, I've had a lot going on. My show opens in two weeks and I'm in rehearsal all day every day, so lots to do. Enjoy!**

The days leading up to the new year passed uneventfully. Rose and Scorpius continued to speak only during their evening chess games, but nothing consequential was said, certainly nothing as important as their conversation on Christmas Day had been. New Year's Eve soon arrived, and Scorpius had a plan, but he couldn't manage it alone, so he needed Al and Lily, whom Scorpius had had to awkwardly ignore for the first week of the holiday so that no one would figure out that they hadn't actually been dating. Still, many family members had remarked on how quickly they'd both gotten over it.

Scorpius hunted down Al and Lily in the orchards, where a bunch of the cousins had just finished a Quidditch game.

He managed to find them both without attracting too much attention, and walked with them further out into the orchards, still visible from the house but without the chance of being overheard.

"I need your help," he began, but Al cut him off.

"What do you think I've been doing all year?"

"Shut up, Al, I'm serious. I have a plan for tonight, but I need help," Scorpius said impatiently.

"A New Year's Eve plan? Intriguing. Do go on," said Lily.

"I would if you two would let me!" Scorpius snapped, before taking a deep breath and continuing calmly. "You know how when the new year officially begins all the couples kiss? I wanna kiss Rose."

Al's and Lily's eyes were in danger of falling out. They were gaping.

"Does this mean you actually fancy her?" Albus sputtered after a stunned moment of silence.

"No!" Scorpius said quickly, "What kind of idiot to you take me for? No, but she's definitely starting to fancy me, and what better way to speed things up than-"

"Than some snogging?" Lily said skeptically, "Do you _want_ to end up in St. Mungo's? She'll hex you into the next millenium!"

"Maybe," Scorpius said evenly, "Maybe not. It's a risk, I'll grant you, but I don't think she'll actually curse me, at least, not too badly."

"You've known Rose for, what, almost seven years, and in all that time has she _ever _passed up a chance to jinx you? No! So _why_ would she stop now, especially when so provoked?" Al said.

"I know it sounds crazy," Scorpius began, "But you don't get her the way-"

"The way _you_ get her?" Lily supplanted, "I'm sorry, but I'm not sure I can buy that. We're the one's related to her!"

"Yeah, but this is different. You guys can't possibly get our relationship-"

"You have a relationship now?" Al sniggered.

"What I mean is that you can't understand the way we interact because you've never interacted that way with anyone else!" Scorpius was getting horribly frustrated with Albus and Lily's purposeful lack of cooperation. "Will you just help me, please, and let me take care of myself?"

"Alright," Lily smirked, "It'll be pretty entertaining, whatever happens. What do you need?"

"Here's the plan..."

* * *

><p>As was Weasley tradition, the entire family was at the Burrow to begin the new year. There was food and drink, games, fireworks and noisemakers, courtesy of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, and as a result it was total chaos.<p>

As the countdown to midnight began all of the couples found each other: Molly and Arthur, Bill and Fleur, Percy and Audrey, George and Angelina, Ron and Hermione, Harry and Ginny, Victoire and Teddy, and James and Clarice.

"TEN!"

Rose looked around for another drink, wishing that Andrew was there so that she'd have someone to kiss too.

"NINE!"

Albus pushed Lily into Scorpius and said, "Come on! It's almost kissin' time!"

"EIGHT!"

Lily put on a look of true disgust as she threw Scorpius away from her.

"SEVEN!"

Scorpius tripped and landed directly in Rose's path.

"SIX!"

Rose found herself face to face with Scorpius, inches apart.

"FIVE!"

Their eyes met, and she couldn't help but gasp a bit.

"FOUR!"

His eyes asked for permission, she could read them easily, as always.

"THREE!"

Was she granting permission? No, of course not, she hated him, and had a boyfriend. Bet or no bet, it would be totally out of bounds.

"TWO!"

He didn't care.

"ONE!"

Her eyes widened as he leaned forward the extra inch.

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

He was kissing her. He was surpised by how well they fit, how good it felt. He wrote it off as an adrenaline rush, and soon forgot the feeling as she pushed him away, her eyes blazing.

He saw her reach into her pocket for her wand and briefly considered drawing his, but couldn't do it. After all, he'd brought it on himself.

She was furious! How dare he! He: A. Knew she was in a committed relationship, and B. Knew she didn't want him to. She was thinking of the most horrible hex to use on him, when she realized what was so unfamiliar about the situation. Normally, when she pulled out her wand he pulled his out too, but this time he didn't. He knew full well what she was capable of, and he surely knew what was coming, so why wasn't he making any move to defend himself?

She looked him in the eye and it was as if he was saying _do your worst, it was worth it._ And suddenly, when he was looking at her that way, without raising a hand in his own defense, she couldn't do it. Part of it was she felt guilty because she was responsible for making him fall in love with her which was what she assumed had led to him kissing her like that. However, most of it wasn't guilt at all, or even pity, it was a genuine, and therefore frightening, wish to not hurt him. Of course, this sudden impulse to _not_ curse him into oblivion made her even angrier, though still not angry enough to strike.

And so, she did the only thing she could do without feeling guilty or embarrassed, she stuffed her wand back into her pocket and punched him. Feeling only a tiny bit guilty and much, much better, she turned and walked to the other side of the room and began wishing her relatives a happy new year. She didn't even dain to respond to her father, who was chuckling, though she couldn't for the life of her see why. She assumed he hadn't seen the kiss, only the punch, but she didn't see what was so damn funny about. What irritated her more was that her mother looked as if she too was trying not to laugh, and Harry was practically howling with laughter. She glared pointedly at them as she walked past.

Meanwhile, Scorpius stood rooted to the spot where she'd left him, gaping. She'd had her wand out of her pocket, he'd been braced for the worst, and then...nothing. True, she did punch him, but he knew what she could do and she _hadn't_. Before he could have any time to reflect on the matter, James walked up to him, snickering.

"Man, are you really _that_ desperate to snog her?"

Scorpius rolled his eyes and said in an undertone, so that the many Weasleys around them wouldn't hear, "If I just wanted to snog her don't you think I'd just lose the bet?"

"Fair point," James said, inclining his head in Scorpius' direction, acknowledging the truth of his statement. "You must be pretty determined to win this, risking death like that."

"I don't like to lose," Scorpius smirked, "And, if you haven't noticed, I'm still standing."

"So it would seem."

* * *

><p>Rose refused point blank to speak to Scorpius the next day. Or the day after. Or even the day after that. She knew that eventually she'd have to, for the sake of the bet, but she was putting it off for as long as possible. She realized that she couldn't actually be mad at Scorpius because it really was her own doing that he was in love with her, she was now positively sure that he was, and therefore it wasn't <em>really<em> his fault that he'd kissed her. Still, she had a boyfriend, whom she was _crazy_ about, and what irritated her the most, though she didn't dare admit it, even to herself, was that, for the brief moment that she forgot _who_ she was kissing, she'd been flying. Of course, she was writing if off as adrenaline rush in her head because there was _no_ way she was falling for him. She refused to buy her own con, it was a rediculous notion. And yet, an oh so real one.

What wasn't helping her was Scorpius' attitude. He didn't speak to her at all during the day, as usual, but every evening, without fail, he'd set the chess board up after dinner. He wouldn't say anything, but he didn't need to. He just waited for her to sit down. He wasn't overly dramatic about it, he just sat in his usual chair, talking to the other Weasleys and Potters, but with the chess board always in front of him, as if he expected her to sit down and begin the game at any minute.

The Weasleys and Potters were not oblivious to the silent struggle that had consumed Rose and Scorpius, but they mostly kept quiet about it. Even Ron did not interfere, for which _everyone_ was grateful.

Rose decided, on the last evening before the new term began, that enough was enough and she was going to start talking to him. Of course, she wouldn't make it so easy, she wasn't just going to fall into his arms or pretend nothing had happened. She was going to do the simplest thing she could: sit down.

After dinner, he set the board up as usual, the same, expectant look in his eyes as she entered the room, and this time she sat down. Surprise flashed across his face for a moment before he recovered and handed her the box of white pieces. He hadn't even forgotten that it was her turn to be white.

She said nothing, she had resolved not to before she'd even entered the room. They simply played. The only word she said the entire time was "Checkmate."

And then she stood up, and left without a single word of gloating, leaving him to pick up the pieces.

Things continued that way for the first few weeks of term. They sat, totally silent in their common room, studying for their N.E.W.T.s, but every night, without fail, he would stop at about 8:30, and, no matter how much work he had, get out the chess board. They began to speak more and more, first only to compare grades, then just about school work in general, and finally, after a month back at school, they were able to talk about anything, as they'd been able to before. By February they were, finally, back on track and friends again.

Scorpius wasn't stupid. He knew that he had to tread carefully after what he'd done on New Year's Eve, but he still didn't regret kissing her. Setting aside the fact that it had been amazing, something he still wouldn't fully admit to himself, he also could tell it had taken its toll of her. He hadn't been surprised when she'd stopped speaking to him, he'd expected nothing less, but he _had_ been surprised by how quickly she'd forgiven him. Indeed, he'd expected her to ignore him at least until the end of the month before, finally, sitting down at the chessboard, which he'd resolved to get out every night regardless of if she sat down opposite him or not.

By mid-February he was sure he'd played his cards right. He noticed that when she was sitting with Andrew, she would glance at him, not too often, but occasionally. A few times, when they were talking over the chessboard or taking study breaks, if she noticed him doing something one way, she would comment offhandedly that Andrew did it a different way, leaving him to puzzle out who's way she prefered.

For her part, Rose felt as though she was going about things the right way. She made sure to go slowly when re-connecting with Scorpius, as forgiving him right away would've seemed out of character, but she felt as though the kiss had, in retrospect, been a great idea because it'd given him a taste of what he was missing. She had begun to slip little comments about Andrew into their conversations in the hopes of spurring Scorpius into definite action.

On one evening in early March, they were sitting down at the chess board for their evening game, a ritual which neither ever mentioned but which they each secretly looked forward to.

As the game progressed Scorpius asked her quietly, "How's Andrew?"

"He's good," she said, equally casually, before spying an opportunity. She bit her lip and smiled a small, but gleeful smile, hoping to give the impression that she was bursting with happy news but didn't want to tell him. After a moment she said quietly, "He told me he loved me." It was true, he'd told her earlier that evening, which is what had put her in such a fine mood, but she hadn't even told Clarice yet, and the idea of telling Scorpius hadn't even occurred to her until she'd spotted such a perfect opportunity.

She produced the effect she'd been going for. Scorpius' head snapped up to look at her, his mind working fast. What could she possibly mean by telling him that?

"Oh," was all he could manage, mentally kicking himself for the not-so-brilliant response.

"You know, I feel like I couldn't really fully commit to Andrew when I didn't know that he loved me," she said slowly, "I think it's important that a guy tell a girl that he loves her as soon as he's sure that he does. Don't you?"

He shrugged, this new information oddly frightening. If she was telling the truth, and he saw no reason why she wouldn't be, than he'd have to tell her that he _loved_ her before she'd allow herself to get too close to him. The terms of the bet meant that she had to tell him that she loved him, and apparently he'd have to tell her the same thing if he wanted to win. He felt horribly uncomfortable with the idea. It was one thing to come onto a girl, to kiss her, to say that you lfancied her, but to tell her that you _loved_ her when you didn't? He felt like a jack-ass just contemplating the idea.

Rose smirked as she watched Scorpius struggle with his thoughts. Now he knew that if he wanted her, he'd have to say those three words.

**Sorry it took so long, but I was having some issues writing the last conversation. Reviews, as always, are much loved.**

**XOXO**

**GossipGirlHere**


	8. Breaking Routine

**This chapter is an official celebration of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, which I will be seeing at midnight tomorrow. All of my work is dedicated to the amazing series that has changed and shaped my life and, I'm assuming, the lives of everyone now reading this. I grew up with these books, and tomorrow night truly marks the end of an era, and for me the end of my childhood, as I've grown up alongside Harry, Ron, and Hermione, and they, along with everyone else in their magical world, have taught me lessons I couldn't have learned anywhere else. I could continue ranting, but I don't want to bore you all, as I'm sure you all feel the same way, so: Enjoy!**

Rose was sure she was going through a midlife crisis at seventeen. There was no other explanation for the fact that, despite having stellar grades, being the best seeker in the school, and having the perfect boyfriend, she wasn't happy. She wasn't unhappy, of course, but she wasn't gleeful, the way she thought she should be, she was merely content. She finally had everything she'd spent seven years working towards, and instead of revelling in her glory, she simply felt...blah. And the root of this problem, and just about every other problem in her life for that matter, was Scorpius Malfoy.

Before, she'd been reminding herself to glance at him periodically no matter where she was, so that he noticed, but now she was doing it automatically. It was becoming like a tick, and she hated it. What made it worse was that, when before it had been just glances, a tilt of the head, and maybe a flirtatious smile, these 'glances' had turned into stares. She found herself contemplating the way his hair fell in his eyes, steely gray and piercing, the way his lips curved into his trademark smirk...the entire thing was nausiating.

And, worst of all, 8:30 had become her favorite time of day. The hour or so they spent every evening in front of the chess board. She relished it, revelled in it, waited for it, attempted to prolong it...she _needed_ it. During that hour, she was the only thing he focused on, the center of his attention, his piercing stare was directed at _her_, and sometimes she felt as if he could see through her, directly to her soul. It terrified her and enthralled her at the same time.

She also found herself comparing Scorpius, he was now always Scorpius in her head rather than Malfoy, to Andrew frequently. At first it had been for the benefit of the bet, but, just as her frequent glances, it had become an automatic thing, and that irritated her to no end. She was becoming more and more sure every day that she'd spent so long fantacizing over Andrew, convinced that he was the one for her, that she'd fallen in love with the _idea_ of Andrew, rather than Andrew himself. Of course, he was charming, kind, loyal, loving, smart, everything she'd ever wanted in a guy, but they were missing the spark. She'd never really believed in the spark, she'd always thought it didn't exist, that it'd been invented by people as an excuse for breaking up with someone, but now she was in a relationship that fundementally didn't have it. She was comfortable, content, but not...not really in love. That was it. She wasn't hoplessly, desperately, irrationally, irrevocabely in love, and she _wanted_ to be.

Eventually, after these thoughts had been spinning around in her head for a few weeks, she realized that she had to act. And so, one evening after dinner in mid-March, at about 7:00, she had checked the time to make sure she'd be back to her common room by 8:30, she pulled Andrew aside and asked him to take a walk.

He took her hand casually, as he usually did when they walked together on the ground, but as they reached the lake Rose pulled her hand away.

"What's wrong?" Andrew asked quietly, "You seem off. Is everything okay?"

"No," she said softly, looking out at the lake, "It's not. I'm-I'm sorry, Andrew."

"What for?" he asked, attempting to take her hand, but she pulled away again. "You're starting to scare me, Rosie."

"I'm breaking up with you," she said quietly, turning to look at him.

He was stunned first, the hurt came after. "But, _why_?"

"It's not you, Andrew, it really isn't, you're wonderful, you're just not..." She didn't want to hurt him more, so didn't finished her sentence, but he understood.

"Not enough?" he asked, dejected. His gaze turned intense as he said, "I could be enough, Rose, I really could. I don't want to just end it, we can work this out, whatever it is. I love you-"

She cut him off. "You don't, though. You love the-the _shadow_ of me, you don't really know the real me."

"But," he sputtered, nonplussed, "I've known you for _years_. I've-"

"But you haven't known _me_, not the real me, not the me that my family and closest friends see. You've known and loved the public me, not all of me. It's not your fault, it's mine. I didn't show you all of me, and that was wrong, but-"

"It's not too late! I want to know all of you, Rose, I do, I-" He drifted away as she shook her head. He looked at her for a moment before his eyes lit up with a sudden understanding. "I get it," he said kindly, "It's him, isn't it?"

It wasn't an accusation, it was a statement of fact, of resignation.

"What?" she muttered, but he ignored her.

"I've seen the way you look at him, the way you watch him. I get it, I really do."

He pulled her into his arms and hugged her, and Rose felt her heart break.

"I'm sorry," she said, tears pooling in her eyes, "I shouldn't have done this with you, it wasn't fair. You're a good guy, and you'll find a girl who will love you for who you are, and who will let you love all of her. And, I hope that, in time, we can still be friends."

He nodded and strode away, his head held high. She watched him go without another word, a single tear escaping her eyes and sliding down her cheek. She realized in that moment that she _had_ loved him, but not enough, not the way she loved _him_.

* * *

><p>"I am such a jack-ass," Scorpius moaned into his pillow. It was the next morning, and Albus had come to find him when he hadn't come down to breakfast at his usual time and when Rose had appeared without him and said that she still hadn't seen him. It was a Saturday, so Albus hadn't been too worried, but it wasn't like Scorpius to sleep so late, so he'd gone up to check on him and found him wallowing in guilt.<p>

"I shouldn't have done this. I'm a terrible person, I really am. I don't know why you're friends with me. _I_ wouldn't be friends with me!"

"Scorpius, calm down! Don't you think this is a tiny bit melodramatic? This is what you wanted, isn't it?" Al said, taking Scorpius by the shoulders and getting him to sit up, with a certain amount of effort.

"But, Al, she broke up with Andrew! The guy of her dreams! You said so yourself, she's been in love with him for _years_, and she broke up with him and it's _my_ fault!" Scorpius had found out about the break-up during their evening chess game the night before, and ever since he'd been dejected.

"I fail to see how her breaking up with her boyfriend is your fault."

"I've spent all year trying to make her fall in love with me, and now that she has it's ruining her life!"

"I thought you _hated_ her," Albus said slowly, "Am I to understand that that is _not_ the case anymore?"

"Hate her?" Scorpius said, as if the thought hadn't crossed his mind, "Of course not. We may not get along all the time, but I don't _hate_ her. I mean, I used to, and I still don't _like_ her or anything, but-"

"Who are you kidding?" Albus asked incredulously. "You _fancy_ her!"

"I do not!" Scorpius said defensively.

"I cannot believe this," Al muttered, more to himself. His crazy brother's plan had actually worked. He turned back to Scorpius, "You're buying your own con! Unbelieveable..."

"Oh God," Scorpius muttered as Al strode from the room, "This cannot be happening to me..."

* * *

><p>"This cannot be happening to me!" Rose practically screamed at Clarice. She was pacing back and forth in front of a beech tree by the lake later that evening, glancing at her watch every few moments, pulling at her hair in frustration.<p>

"Will you sit down?" Clarice begged, "And why do you keep looking at your watch? You're gonna develop a tick."

_I already have_, thought Rose, but she simply sat down next to Clarice and said, "I've got to make sure I'm back by 8:30."

"Why? Curfew's not until 9:00."

"Nevermind," Rose muttered irritabley. No one knew that Rose and Scorpius still played chess every evening, and she wanted to keep it that way. "More importantly, what am I going to do?"

"I'm not totally sure you have to do anything," Clarice reasoned. "So you fancy him? So _what_? Doesn't that kind of coincide with the bet?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, who said anything about _fancying_ him?"

"Rose, sweetie, I'm sorry, but you can't _possibly_ deny it any more. You said so yourself, you can't stop thinking about him, you watch him all the time, you look forward to spending time with him, it's all there. You can't deny it." Clarice had to try hard not to sound too excited by the idea.

"I do deny it because it's not true. I was simply saying that I can't be starting to actually like him as a _friend_!"

"Then why are you feeling guilty?"

"Because friends don't hurt friends, and if I win the bet it'll hurt him!"

"But if he falls in love with you, and you've already fallen in love with him, then won't you just start dating?" Clarice said, raising an eyebrow.

Rose glared at her and snarled through her teeth, "I. Do. Not. Fancy. Him. Period."

Clarice shrugged, "You're doing a pretty good impression of it, then."

Rose's eyes narrowed, "It's all for the bet, as you very well know."

"You sure that you haven't started to buy it yourself?" Clarice smirked.

"Yes," Rose muttered between her teeth before standing up and saying, "I'm going back inside."

"Fine," Clarice shrugged, "See if I care that you're going to blow me off for Scorpius Malfoy..."

Rose growled, but couldn't come up with a good comeback, so simply strode away, seething.

* * *

><p>When Rose strode into their common room at about 8:15 she was distressed, but shrugged it off as surprise, to find that Scorpius was not there. Thoroughly convinced he would arrive any moment to begin their game, she sat down and began to work on her transfiguration assignment, so that she looked nonchalant when he arrived.<p>

However, 8:30 came and went, then 8:45, then 9:00, and still Scorpius did not appear. She wondered if he was in his room, but didn't want to check, so she simply waited and attempted to work on her essay. However, by 10:30 she was pacing the room in irritation and anger. Where was he? Had she done something to offend him? She couldn't think what. Just the evening before they'd been talking as usual when she told him about the break-up with Andrew. She'd thought that something about his reaction had seemed wrong at the time, and now she found herself over-analyzing it, looking for clues. For a split second a grin had stretched across his face, but then his brow furrowed, and he spent the rest of the game troubled, eventually losing, and speaking very little for the rest of the game, and only when prodded by her. She hadn't seen him all day, but she'd assumed that he'd be there, but he wasn't, and she was seriously upset by it, and even more upset with herself for being upset. She glanced longingly at the chess set, which sat in the corner where it always sat until Scorpius got it out and assembled the pieces. She was tempted to get it out and wait for him, but that would be a change in routine, as he always set out the board. Then again, he was breaking routine by not showing up.

At 11:00 she gave up and went to bed, dejected.

Meanwhile, Scorpius was sitting in his room, having to physically resist the urge to get up and go into the common room when 8:30 came and went. It was a great personal sacrafice on his part, but he was sure it was the best thing to do. He'd told Al he was doing it because playing hard to get would get him far with Rose, but he knew Al saw through him, but it meant a lot to him that Al hadn't said anything. The real reason was simple: he wasn't going to destroy her life anymore. He was willing to lose the bet for several reason: first, he wouldn't really mind kissing her again, he'd relish the opportunity in fact, so it wouldn't be the end of the world to face the consequences of losing; second, he'd spent all year trying to get her to trust him, and now that he had her trust he felt a sense of responsibility that he'd never thought he'd feel; third, he cared about her, beyond responsibility, he _cared_. He didn't want her to get hurt, and he didn't want to be the one hurting her. The idea frightened him, repelled him, terrified him. He didn't want to be in love with her, it went against everything he'd ever known about his world, his life, himself, but he couldn't deny it anymore: he was in love with Rose Weasley.

As he heard the door to her room snap shut at 11:00, he slowly got off the bed where he'd been sitting for hours and went into the common room, careful to make as little noise as possible. He sat in his usual chair and looked the chessboard and thought.

He didn't know exactly how it had happened, but he'd fallen for her. He knew he should've been horrified by the very idea, but he couldn't bring himself to be. Over the course of the year, he'd come to realize that he'd been blinded by hate, by preconceptions, by his own competative nature. Of course, he still wanted to beat her, but the hatred he'd felt was gone. He began to wonder if it'd ever been real, or simply an excuse to think and talk about her without acknowledging, even to himself, that she fascinated and enchanted him.

Having realized that he loved her, his course of action was clear. He would back off. He had no other choice. He'd lose the bet, kiss her, get cursed or hit or whatever, and then he'd leave and never look back. He'd walk right out of her life and it'd be better for everyone. He hadn't told Al this plan because he knew what Al would say. Al would say that Rose liked him, so he should go for it, but Scorpius knew better. She only liked him because he'd made it so, he'd manipulated her, all for a stupid bet, and that had made him a person he didn't want to be and a person that wasn't worthy of her love. She'd given up a guy who _was _worthy of her love, assumably for him, and that had driven the point home: he had to quit her before he completely ruined her life.

He supposed he could come clean about the whole thing, but what good would it do? She'd feel used and abused, which she had been, he had to admit with shame, and she'd hate him forever, which might literally kill him. If he walked away now, she'd be hurt and confused, but she wouldn't hate him anymore. He knew it was selfish, but he wanted her to think well of him, he _needed_ her to think well of him.

He sat there late into the night, pondering his decision, and as he thought he grew more and more certain that it was a good one. Starting now he would be indifferent, or, at least, appear to be.

**So, that was the chapter. I'm SUPER PSYCHED for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and, as I said, this chapter is dedicated to it. Review please!**

**XOXO**

**GossipGirlHere**


	9. Big Gestures and Shattered Frames

**Another chapter for you all. This story's turning out to be _way_ more angsty than I'd originally planned, but that always seems to happen with my stories, so I'm not sure why I'm surprised. Anyway, enjoy!**

Indifference was hard. Especially when the person you're trying to be indifferent to keeps trying to catch your eye, keeps calling your name from across classrooms or from the other end of corridors, keeps asking people about you, and, worst of all, keeps being herself: the person that you're challenged by, enchanted by, fascinated by, motivated by; the person that you love.

Basically, Scorpius' life had become a living hell, or the closest thing to one he'd ever experienced. With N.E.W.T.s a little less than two months away, he was studying like mad. When he wasn't burried in his books he was on the Quidditch pitch training for Slytherin's last match of the season, which they needed to win if they wanted to have even a hope of winning the cup. However, he might've been able to bear all of the stress if it weren't for the fact that he was spending half of his time trying not to stare at Rose. Scratch that, three-quarters.

Rose wasn't faring much better. She'd been frustrated, angered, and hurt by Scorpius' sudden indifference, and she had no idea what she'd done to cause it. She tried shouting her grades at him in the hopes of getting him to stop and compare, cornering him in their common room, asking Albus to talk to him about her, sitting next to him in classes, and anything else she could think of, but all to no avail. He simply ignored her. He never said anything rude or insulting, he simply didn't say anything at all. He would work next to her in class without showing any type of aversion to her, he'd nod at her if she called his name from across a room or the other side of a corridor, but he'd always find a way to disappear before she could reach him. He answered all direct questions with a simple 'yes' or 'no', and when neither of those applied he simply shrugged, whether it made sense to do so or not.

There was only one thing that Rose had not tried, and as mid-April came and went she knew she had to do it, no matter how much she didn't want to. She didn't like to lose, and she hadn't come this far to be thwarted when she could see her goal, almost touch it. She hoped that maybe he was ignoring her because he was trying to stop himself from being in love with her, as she knew he wouldn't much like the idea, but if that were true she knew she was doing all the right things and that he was bound to crack soon, as not a day went by where she didn't put herself in his sight.

And so, one Saturday evening in late April Rose sat down in their common room at about 7:30 and set out the chess board, set up all of the pieces, and sat herself in front of the black ones. She still remembered that it was his turn to be white.

He didn't arrive until just before 9:00, and she couldn't help but wonder if he'd been out with another girl. She desperately hoped not. She had mixed feelings about him, confusing feelings, but the one, overpowering feeling she always got when she thought of him was possessiveness. He was _hers_. Her what, she didn't yet know. She didn't know if she was in love with him, she didn't know if they were even friends anymore, but what she did know for sure was that he was _hers_.

When he walked in, he'd been hiding in the Slytherin common room with Al in the hopes of not having to see her, he stopped dead as the portrait hole swung shut. She didn't say anything, but looked him in the eye, and he looked her in the eye for the first time in weeks.

He looked away first, and began to walk towards his room.

He had already passed her when she whispered, without turning to look at him, "Scorpius." She was ashamed that her breath caught.

She could hear him turn around to look at her, but still didn't turn to look at him. "Scorpius," she repeated, more confidently. "Why have you been ignoring me?"

She didn't need to see him to know that he'd shrugged.

"No," she said, standing up and turning around. "No more non-verbal communication. I want _words_, and not just 'yes' or 'no,' _words_. I want a legitimate reason. Why aren't you speaking to me. I thought we were good, I thought we were friends, and then suddenly one day you just started ignoring me. You haven't said anything to me in _weeks_, and don't pretend you haven't noticed me trying to get your attention."

She was becoming more and more frustrated, and her eyes stung with unshed tears. She looked unwaveringly into his eyes, daring him to look away.

"It's complicated," he muttered, but this time he did not look away. He wanted to tell her the truth, the whole truth. He owed her that, didn't he? He'd basically dismantled her life for _sport_. It made him sick.

"Explain it," she said, more calmly, but still with a piercing gaze.

"Rose, I-I'm sorry," he began, still looking directly into her eyes. "I'm sorry for what I've been doing this year."

Her eyebrows shot up. Whatever she'd been expecting it certainly hadn't been _that_. What the hell was he talking about? She waited for him to continue.

He took a deep breath, summoning the willpower he'd need to be honest with her. "I've been-" He closed his eyes, as if by not looking at her she'd disappear and not hear his words. "I've been playing you."

He heard her breath catch, but did not open his eyes as he continued. "It wasn't right of me, but when I still hated you I thought it was okay. It seemed like a good game, to see if you'd fall in love with me, and I know it was wrong, and I wish I hadn't done it because, Rose, I-" He opened his eyes to look at her, and saw the tears welling up in her eyes. He hated himself more and more with each one he saw cascade down her cheeks. "I _care_ about you. I didn't think that I would, but I _do_. I've been trying to fight it all year, but I can't anymore. Rose, I'm telling you this because I don't want to lie anymore, and I'm not going to lie anymore. I really do care about you."

Rose's head was spinning. Everything she'd thought had been a sign that he loved her was really him just pretending to love her to get her to love him. And she'd fallen for it. She realized in that instant, as she looked at him, her heart breaking, that she'd fallen for him. She'd assumed that he loved her, never imagining that he was playing a game, that he was playing her, and she'd let herself get too involved. She'd gotten too involved in her own game, and she'd played right into his hands. Her fists clenched at her sides subconsciously, her nails digging into her palms, drawing blood. She was shaking with anger, and she embraced it, knowing full well that when the anger was gone the only thing left would be pain.

"No you don't," she whispered, more to herself than to him. How could he possibly expect her to believe that he _cared_.

She looked around for something, _anything_, and, before she realized what she'd done, she'd thrown the nearest thing, a picture frame, across the room. It shattered and glass flew everywhere. Scorpius' eyes widened as he looked at the broken pieces on the floor, inches from him, and he didn't look up until he heard her door slam.

He crouched down and reached for the picture, cutting his finger as he extracted it from the broken glass. It'd been taken while they were at the Burrow over Christmas. It was of he, Albus, James, and Rose, all with their brooms, mud all over their faces. He and Rose had found themselves next to each other for the picture, and occastionally he would reach over and wipe some mud off of her cheek, but neither said anything to each other. Even the picture knew that the only talked over the chess board.

He glanced at the board where it sat, unassuming on the table, all of the pieces in their places. It had been a gesture, and a big one, and he'd broken her heart. Of course, what else could he have expected. He'd used her in the worst way possible, and now he had to live with the consequences. That was why he didn't tell her about the bet. He didn't want her to know that her own family had been in on it, that her own cousin had forced this type of pain on her. He also wanted to bear the blame because it was his to bear. Mentioning the bet would only make her turn her anger to James, and he deserved all of it, he knew that now. Never once, as he stood looking blankly at the chess board, the picture still in his hand, did it occur to him that he'd now lost the bet. It didn't matter to him anymore because this bet had cost him more than he'd known he had. It had cost him her.

Of course, he had no proof that she loved him, as she hadn't said it, but he'd seen the hurt behind her eyes. Even if she didn't love him, she'd cared about him, _trusted_ him. And he'd betrayed that trust, betrayed _her_.

Slowly, he took out his wand and flicked it, causing the broken pieces of frame to vanish from the floor. He left the chess board where it sat and went into his room, keeping the picture. It rested on his bedside table as he slept.

* * *

><p>Rose awoke on Sunday with dried tear tracks still on her face, her mascara still blurry around her eyes. As her anger had given way to pain she'd cried herself to sleep, but it was as if her brain had been working throughout the night, and she awoke with a new clarity of thought, but it didn't make her feel much better.<p>

She realized that this was her own fault, and no one else's. After all, she, who'd known all along what type of guy Scorpius was, had lowered her defenses and opened herself to him. She'd done no better than he had by taking the bet with James, only worse, she'd failed and he'd succeeded, yet another competition he could beat her at, and he hadn't even known he was competing. And, to top it all off, he'd had the ultimate satisfaction; he'd seen her at her lowest, throwing a picture frame at him, tears streaming down her face, too pained to even draw her wand. He'd seen her at her weakest, and he kenw that he had the power to bring her there.

She glanced at the clock: 10:00. She was about to roll over and go back to sleep when Clarice burst into the room like a rocket, the door slamming behind her. She took one look at Rose, curled up in a ball on her side, hugging her knees to her chest, her face and hair a mess, her eyes red, and ran over.

"What happened?" Clarice asked, sitting down on the bed as Rose sat up, rather unwillingly, "When you and Scorpius hadn't turned up to breakfast-"

"He's not down there?" Rose cut her off. "I assumed he'd be gloating and spreading the news of his victory far and wide."

"What?" Clarice asked, her brow furrowed.

"I got played," Rose whispered lifelessly, looking down at her hands. "All this time I thought I was calling the shots and had it totally under control, and he played me."

"Oh God," Clarice whispered. Scorpius must have told Rose about the bet. She wasn't sure what to do, so she decided to find out exactly what had happened. "What do you mean?"

"I mean all year he's been pretending to fall in love with me to try and make _me_ fall in love with _him_, all for sport! For some sick game he invented for himself!"

Clarice became more puzzled than ever. He hadn't told Rose about the bet?

"And then," Rose continued scathingly, "He tried to get me to believe some bull-shit about him caring about me and that he was telling me the truth because he _cared_. As if he wasn't enjoying watching me crash and burn all because of him."

"This doesn't make _any_ sense," Clarice muttered, more to herself than to Rose.

"What do you mean? Of course it does! All this time I thought I was changing him but really he was just pretending to fall in love with me so that I'd fall for him and it-it worked." Her voice broke and more tears came to her eyes. She continued in a whisper, "I feel so stupid. I should've known not to trust him, but I thought...Can you just leave me alone, please?"

Clarice nodded, her brow furrowed in confusion and concern. The moment she'd closed the door she sprinted to the end of the common room and wrentched open the portrait hole, letting in slam behind her as she ran, full speed, for the dungeons.

She got lucky, Al was just coming out when she arrived, panting.

"Clarice, what-"

"You have to come _now!_" she said between breaths, "To the Heads' Common Room. It's important."

And she led him back up the stairs, explaining everything she knew as she went.

When they reached the portrait of the girl in the field Albus began, "But, how will we get-"

"Moonstone," she said to the girl, who nodded and swung open obligingly.

"How do you know the password?"

"Rose," Clarice shrugged, before pushing Albus into the room and pulling the portrait closed.

"What exactly do you want me to do?" Albus asked as Clarice pushed him towards Scorpius' door.

"Find out what happened! Find out why he told Rose he was playing her and why he didn't tell her about James and if he loves her!"

"Oh yeah, cause that'll be _so_ easy," Albus said with an eye-roll. "This is _Scorpius_ we're talking about. When he's moping, Merlin help _anyone_ crazy enough to try and talk reasonably to him."

"Just _try_!"

"Fine, fine," Albus grumbled before opening the door and walking in, closing it softly behind him.

As he'd expected, Scorpius was lying face down on his bed, still wearing his cloths from the day before, and lying on top of the blankets rather than under them.

"What?" Scorpius moaned into his pillow.

"Mate, come on," Albus said, shaking him. "Sit up."

"Ugh, fine," Scorpius groaned, sitting up. He began to reach for the photo on the bedside table, before remembering that Al was there and checking himself, but it was too late.

Al picked up the picture and asked, "Where's this from?"

"I salvaged it from the broken bits of the picture frame she threw at me," Scorpius answered lifelessly.

"She threw a picture frame at you?" Albus asked incredulously. Clarice had neglected to mention that.

"Could've been worse," Scorpius said in a monotone. In all honesty, her tears had hurt him far more than the picture frame would've if it had actually hit him.

"Why'd you tell her?" Albus asked after a moment of silence. Scorpius had asked him to keep out of it for a while, and he'd listened, hoping Scorpius would confess his love for Rose in due time, but now he was wishing he'd stayed more involved.

"Because I owed it to her. I owed her the truth. The way she was looking at me, the hurt behind her eyes when I ignored her, she deserved the truth."

"If she deserved the truth then why didn't you tell her about the bet?"

"Because it's not important, not _really_. I don't want her to blame James or you or anyone but me because it's _my_ fault. Bet or no bet, I played her, and it was wrong." Scorpius closed his eyes for a moment before continuing, "How'd you find out."

"Clarice. She saw Rose this morning."

"How is she?" Scorpius asked before he could stop himself.

Albus told the truth, "A wreck. Do you regret telling her. Wouldn't it have been better to have kept ignoring her until she got over you and then continued to be friends."

Scorpius thought seriously before giving his answer. "No."

* * *

><p>"We need to talk," Albus said as he sat down beside Clarice at the Ravenclaw table that afternoon at lunch, getting several looks from the startled Ravenclaws he'd pushed aside. He cut her off before she could protest, "I know we agreed never to compare notes about the bet because that would be betraying our respective 'side' or whatever, but this is different."<p>

"I've been thinking the same," Clarice acknowledged. "Rose still hasn't left her room."

"Neither has Scorpius. I'm seriously worried about him."

"Why was he ignoring her for all these weeks if he was only going to tell her about the bet, and more importantly why did he tell her?"

"He wanted to give her a chance to get over him because he actually cares about her now, I'm not gonna say he loves her, but he definitely fancies her, and he cares more about her than about most girls he's ever dated, and he felt guilty, so he tried to back off. And then, I guess, the guilt was too much for him to take and it just kinda slipped out...And he didn't tell her about the bet because he doesn't want her to blame James and I, but-"

"But that's a problem because if he'd told her she would've put two and two together and told him about the bet, but because he didn't tell her she was too hurt to realize at first that she'd been doing the same thing and that she should tell him the truth. And now-"

"And now they'll never speak to each other again and he'll never know that she was using him but-"

"But once he finds out he'll think that she doesn't love him and she already thinks that so basically-"

"We're screwed."

"Exactly," Clarice finished, slightly out of breath.

"Well," Albus said, "There's only one thing for it. We need to write James."

**Alright, so it's all out in the open...well, kind of. Please continue reviewing, it helps so much.**

**XOXO**

**GossipGirlHere**


	10. Confession from a Broken Heart

**Sorry for the wait, but my life has literally turned into a soap opera, and I spent most of the last few weeks too emotionally drained/too wrapped up in my own drama to write, but I'm pleased with this chapter and glad that I didn't just post some crap just to post something. Enjoy!**

Albus and Clarice sat anxiously in the Room of Requirement, glancing at their watches every few moments. However, they didn't have to wait long. At 8:02 the door opened and closed, though no one had visibly entered. And then none other than James Potter pulled off the invisibility cloak and stowed it in his bag, before joining Clarice on a couch, kissing her lightly while Al pointedly looked away. It had been exactly a week since Scorpius' confession and since then there had been no new developments. They each went to class and pointedly ignored the other while devoting themselves completely to their N.E.W.T.s. James had wanted to plan in person, and thus this meeting had been arranged for them to discuss what to do.

"So," James began, "Any new developments?"

"Nope," Al said, popping the 'p.' "They've just been ignoring each other, and they're both pretty miserable."

"I'm not sure if there's anything we can do at this point," Clarice said. "Rose is starting to realize the hypocrisy of it all, considering that she was playing him too, but she doesn't want to face him because she knows that he knows that he has the power to hurt her and it frightens her."

"And Scorpius, meanwhile," Al continued, "Is trying desperately to avoid looking her in the eye, but stares at her constantly, and is feeling so guilty that he's barely eating or sleeping. I honestly don't know what we can do to fix this..."

"Well," James said slowly, "We have a few options. We could just let them be, let them each lose the bet, and then hope that when they kiss it'll all sort itself out. But, that seems just a bit too ideal to actually work. What I think we need to do is get either Scorpius or Rose to tell the other about the bet."

"The problem is," Clarice interrupted, "Once Scorpius finds out that Rose had a bet going with you, he's going to be just as hurt, and this will all start over again only their places will be reversed. And if he manages to tell her about his bet with you before breaking down when she tells him about hers, she'll be really angry, not only with him but also with all of us, and she'll spiral into another bout of depression mixed with guilt."

James ran his hand through his hair in frustration, "I honestly don't know what to do." He looked more hopeless than he'd ever been. "I hate to admit it, but I'm out of my league here. Maybe I should just come clean, and tell them both the truth..."

"But we're so close," Al said. "They're in love with each other, I know they are! If you come in and sort this out for them than they'll never end up together, but if one of them steps up and shows the other how much they really care, this could all still work out!"

"This isn't a _game_ Al! You of all people should see that, considering it's your best mate and your cousin!" James snapped, running his hand through his hair again.

"Oh, that's rich, coming from _you_! You set this whole thing up for your own enjoyment! Only now you're little parlor trick hasn't worked out quite as well as you'd have liked, has it? And you have the gall to lecture _me_?"

"STOP IT!" Clarice nearly bellowed before James could retort. The two brothers glared at each other. "Bickering about this doesn't solve anything. All of us are responsible, so there's no point in blame-laying. We've just got to try and play the hand we've been dealt."

"The hand James dealt us, you mean," muttered Al.

"Albus Severus Potter, if you don't shut your mouth I'll shut it for you," Clarice seethed, eyes narrowed. "We're here to help Rose and Scorpius, and neither one of you is getting us any closer to that goal." She took a deep breath before continuing in a much calmer voice. "I think the only thing to do, short of us coming clean, which I'm not crazy about, is to try and convince Rose to tell Scorpius the truth, instead of us having to do it. I don't think it'll be too hard for me to convince her, considering she's already eating away at herself with guilt. Once she comes clean, we'll see how Scorpius reacts, and take it from there. Alright?"

"Fine," Albus shrugged, still glaring daggers at his brother.

"Fine."

* * *

><p>"No! No, no, no, and no. I refuse. No way. Not now, not <em>ever<em>. I won't do it. I won't. You can't make me, so I'd stop trying if I were you, as it is a wasted effort. You hear that? _Wasted_."

"Why _not_?" Clarice moaned. She couldn't help rolling her eyes at Rose's antics. She was currently sitting on her bed as Rose stood in front of her being as unreasonable as was humanly possible, accenting each dissent with an appropriate hand gesture.

"Because there's no point. He doesn't need to know and-"

"Doesn't need to know? You played him too, you know!" Clarice interrupted indignantly.

"Don't remind me. I _failed_ to play him, which is why he doesn't need to know. This is yet _another_ competition that I've _lost_, and I'd rather he didn't know it."

"That's not all of it," Clarice mused, "You're not telling me the whole truth."

Rose closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. She sat down beside Clarice and whispered, "I can't face him. I can't look him in the face and tell him _anything_ when I know that he's seen me at my lowest and he knows he has the power to bring me there."

"It scares you because _no one_ has ever had the power to bring you there, and now that he does you're afraid. But you owe him the truth because he was honest with you," _well, almost_, Clarice amended silently. "And, there's a good chance he was telling the truth when he said that he cared about you because if he _didn't_ he would've gloated, wouldn't he?"

"He didn't _need_ to," Rose shrugged, looking down at her hands.

"Just tell him the truth. Tell him about the bet, and then if you want you can walk away forever and never see him again, but before N.E.W.T.s you have to talk to him, you have to get_ some_ type of closure or you'll surly fail your exams!"

"Fine," Rose sighed, "If I tell him will you let it go?"

"Yes."

"You'll never mention his name again?"

"Never."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

* * *

><p>Rose waited longer than Clarice would've liked to tell Scorpius the truth. She waited until the evening before N.E.W.T.s started. She knew it was a stupid time to do it, but she couldn't put it off any longer. The truth was, she was terrified. She was afraid to look him in the eye, to tell him the truth, because nothing good could come of it. If he didn't care about her, a fact she was almost one hundred percent sure of, than she would just be admitting that she'd been stupid enough to fall for her own scam, and all of the pain and humiliation would double. On the other hand, if he really did care about her, he would be angry and hurt because she <em>had<em> played him, she _had_ abused his trust, if she'd even had it, which she still doubted.

And so it was with great trepidation that Rose entered the Heads' Common Room on the evening before their first N.E.W.T., Transfiguration. They'd come to the silent agreement that neither of them would use the room during the day, but would go to their respective house common rooms, and the first to get back before curfew used the common room space while the other went into their bedroom. Rose had made sure to get back late that night.

Sure enough, Scorpius was sitting in one of the big, stuffed arm chairs, his favorite, she noted, his wand in his hand, his head in his book, his lips moving soundlessly as he mouthed incantations.

He looked up as she snapped the portrait hole shut, and quickly looked down again, expecting her to do what she always did, and walk straight past him and into her room. However, she set her bag down on the table beside his and stood, looking at him, biting her lip.

He gazed at her in utter confusion, waiting for her to speak first. Since he'd told her the truth he hadn't said a word to her, figuring that it was better to just let her get on with her life in peace. He didn't try to speak to her, he avoided catching her eye at all costs, and he never sat next to her, in class or anywhere else. He'd just assumed that she didn't _want_ to see him because why would she? She never looked at him or even acknowledged his existence, and he was baffled that she would decide to change that arrangement _now_.

She took a deep breath, and, with some effort, stopped biting her bottom lip.

"Listen," she began, "I have something to say, and I'd really appreciate it if you didn't interrupt me." She did not pause for his response. "I haven't been very honest with you, and I think that the only way for the two of us to ever be totally done with each other is for me to come clean, so here it goes. I've been being so nice all year, and spending time with you and everything because I've had a bet going with my cousin James. He bet me that I couldn't make you fall in love with me, and I took the bet, so I've spent all year trying to earn your trust. As you can see, I failed, but I just thought I should let you know. I tried to make it _look_ like I liked you so that you would like me, and I thought I was succeeding, but I realize now that I wasn't. I just needed to explain, and now that I have we can go on with our lives and never speak to each other again."

Scorpius' book fell from his limp fingers as he stared blankly at her, gaping. His brain was legitimately empty as he digested.

She gave him less than a second to respond, and when he did not she snatched her bag off of the table and made for her room, tears leaking out of the corners of her eyes, desperately trying to hide her distress from him.

He did not come after her.

**I know, shorter than usual, but I'm still pleased with it, so do review. I'll try to get another update out faster, but, as I mentioned above, my life has literally been an emotional roller-coaster. It's all over now (or at least I hope it is), but I'm basically emotionally and mentally exhausted. But, I digress. Review _please_!**

**XOXO**

**GossipGirlHere**


	11. A Broken Heart and a Jackass

**I warn you: this is _very_ angsty. The first 1000 words or so is pure angst from Scorpius, and most of the chapter is basically Scorpius angsting, so be prepared. Enjoy!**

Numbness came first. He sat there, staring after her for a moment, before he picked up his book and his wand from where they'd fallen to the floor, and returned to his studies. And the numbness was a good thing. He kept it there as long as possible, didn't think about what he'd heard, kept himself from digesting any of it, because he knew that the moment he did his world would crash down around him.

The next morning he awoke and proceeded calmly to breakfast, his mind only on his exams. He ate with his head in his book, and then left the hall when he was bidden as the house tables were vanished away and desks were conjured. He sat his written exam and felt it went rather well, and then ate lunch with Albus, going over every question he could possibly remember. And still he was numb, unthinking. He had his practical examination that afternoon, and performed brilliantly. He then returned to the Slytherin common room and began studying for the next day: Charms. The numbness continued. Most of the time he was able to forget about it, but a small portion of his brain, small enough that it wasn't missed but large enough for the task, was keeping thoughts at bay until his exams were over. Self-preservation was still a strong instinct.

He went through all of his exams that way. There were only six of them, so he was done in less than a week, and through all of that time he kept thoughts of Rose, of the bet, of everything, at bay. However, after he left his last practical, Defense Against the Dark Arts, the flood gates opened.

And suddenly he was furious. He was furious, and hurt, and guilty, and confused. He wasn't sure what to feel or who to blame or what to expect anymore, and he had the overwhelming urge, as he stood in the Entrance Hall and let the tide of students leaving and entering the Great Hall ebb and flow around him, to scream, to yell, to run.

And run he did. He took off and, before he knew it, found himself by the lake. Not where students normally sat under the beech trees, but further away from the castle and from the droves of students who were taking refuge outside after their examinations. Here there were no trees, nothing but grass, and water, and sky. The castle was a far enough distance from him that he couldn't hear the students, who were undoubtedly screaming and yelling and laughing, encased in a bubble of their own joy. He didn't want to be a part of it, he didn't want to hear it. He had so many emotions, too many, all equally painful and difficult to think about.

Firstly, he was angry. He was angry at Rose for attempting to use him and he was angry at himself for using her and for letting her use him. He was angry at Al, who must've known that James had a bet going with Rose as well, but who had let Scorpius get involved, had encouraged Scorpius, had told Scorpius that Rose _surely_ cared for him. What kind of a friend does that? But, most of all, he was angry at James. James, who he'd always considered a decent bloke, fun to be around, game for a prank, but a good guy at heart. Now he saw the kind of guy James really was. He'd single-handedly fabricated a scheme that had dismantled Scorpius' and Rose's lives, all for his own sick enjoyment. Scorpius was so furious just thinking about it that his hands clenched into fists.

Beyond the anger, he was hurt. He'd trusted Rose, trusted in her honesty, her truthfulness, her benevolence, her kindness of spirit. He'd trusted her, and she'd been using him. She'd been playing him, it'd all been a game to her. He felt like a classic fool. And what was worse, she didn't even pity him. She'd said it when she'd told him about the bet, she'd said that she had to tell him the truth because only then could they be done with each other. She wanted to be done with him. That hurt the most. He realized that she must've felt _something_ for him because she'd been furious and hurt when he'd told her he was playing her, but it couldn't have been love because if it had been, she wouldn't be so ready to drop him, even if it was what he deserved.

Lastly, he felt guilty, though this emotion, at least, wasn't totally knew, only intensified. He could be angry at Rose all he wanted, but the fact remained that he'd done the exact same thing she'd done, only he hadn't even been completely honest about why he'd done it, while she had been. They'd both taken the stupid bet, so however much she was accountable he was equally so. And he'd hurt her. He'd seen it the night he'd confessed and again the night that she had. Even though she was ready to be done with him, he'd left a lasting impression on her. The mark he'd made on her life had been a cruel one, and he regretted that more than anything else. He'd gladly suffer through all of this angst and pain and anger if only she hadn't been hurting. But she was, whether she wanted to admit it or not, whether she showed it or not, he knew she was hurting. He knew because he knew her better than he'd known anyone before. He knew her weaknesses, her fears, her hopes, her dreams. He'd had the power to make her happy, and instead he'd crushed her spirit. As lively as she'd been, she was a shell of her former self, and he'd reduced her to that, and for that he'd never forgive himself.

Scorpius sat by the lake, unmoving, for hours, and it wasn't until he heard someone call out to him that he realized just how long he'd been there.

"Scorpius!"

He turned his head and saw Albus heading towards him at a trot, his brow furrowed. Seeing Albus brought anger to the forefront of Scorpius' mind.

"What're you doing here?" Albus asked, panting slightly as he reached Scorpius. He plopped down in the grass next to him, waiting for an answer.

"Thinking," Scorpius replied, his eyes still on the water.

"About?"

"Rose told me the truth." Al's eye's widened, making it clear that he knew exactly what 'the truth' was referring to.

"How can you live with yourself?" Scorpius asked, turning to look at Albus, seething. Despite maintaining his numbness throughout his exams, anger had been stewing in the back of his mind for the entire time, and now it was coming out in full force. "How have you been living with yourself all year when you _knew_ what was going on? You knew she was playing me, and yet you _still_ tried to convince me that she was in love with me, worse still you tried to convince me that _I_ was in love with _her_. Didn't you care? Didn't you care that this was going to hurt me, that it was going to hurt _her_? Don't we matter to you at all? You and that excuse for a human being that you call a brother watched us self-destruct for _sport_. You didn't do one damn thing about it when you saw me getting too emotionally involved, not one _damn_ thing! You let us both carry on when you _knew_ that it was all a lie! How do you sleep at night? I really want to know. How can you live with this? I'm _dying_ to understand. Even for a Slytherin, this is base treachery. We're supposed to be best mates."

"We are," Al muttered feebly. He was beginning to feel ashamed.

"No," Scorpius' words cut through Al like a knife. "We were. Thanks to your efforts we're nothing but a broken heart and a jackass. Are you happy? Is this how it was all supposed to end? Did you even think about the consequences? Are you so thick that you didn't think about them, or did you simply not care? Was it a gamble, was it worth the risk to see if your little experiment would turn out? We're not a science experiment, we're _people_. Two of your closest friends, and her your blood relative, and you've treated us like trick ponies! Oh, let's see if we can make my two best mates, who happen to hate each other, fall in love! Never mind that it will emotionally destroy them both and there's no possibility of it ending well, it sounds like it'll be a good bit of fun, doesn't it?" The sarcasm in his voice ran thick.

Scorpius had reached a level of indignation, anger, and pain that was too high to allow him the ability to continue speaking.

Al seized his chance. "Don't you turn this all on me! What about _you_? You took the stupid bet in the first place, and so did she. Whatever happened afterward, you started this, not me. And once you were in it I tried my best to help you because what else could I do? You have no right to judge me, none. I thought this would all work out, I had the best of intentions, but what were _your_ intentions, hm? To make Rose fall in love with you to win a stupid bet? If you want to talk about ignoble intentions, take a better look at yourself and lay off me."

Scorpius was seething. He didn't want to hear the truths Al was shouting at him. He didn't want to face his own guilt because that hurt too much. It hurt less to storm and rage at Al, to blame Albus and James for everything, but he knew he couldn't really do that.

"Would you just go?" he muttered.

"You've got to come in, mate. Curfew-

"Just _go_!" he snarled, "I don't give a damn about curfew. School ends in less than a week, they're not gonna give a damn about where I am, if they even notice that I'm gone."

"Fine," Albus said, getting up and striding away. He turned back after a moment and said, "You can't wallow forever, Scorpius. She's not gonna wait forever."

And with that Albus left Scorpius to his thoughts once more.

* * *

><p>Rose, unlike Scorpius, had completely rallied by the time that she took her last N.E.W.T. Of course, she was still hurt, she was still angry, she was still guilty, and she still missed him, but she was able to push it all aside and be productive. Rose Weasley never let anything get in the way of her future, not even Scorpius Malfoy.<p>

Clarice, true to her word, had not mentioned his name once, for which Rose was grateful. She got through exams without thinking much about him, as she hardly ever saw him and had so many other things to think about. Once exams ended, Rose wasted no time finding something else to occupy her mind, which is why she was packing, almost a week early, the night after their last N.E.W.T.

She had methodically emptied her trunk, sorted her things, folded her cloths, threw away the trash, and was in the process of putting everything back into the trunk when Clarice came in looking for her, as she had missed dinner.

"You're seriously packing? We don't leave for a week!" Clarice said incredulously.

Rose shrugged. "This way I'll have plenty of time the night before to say my goodbyes to the castle and everybody. And," she smirked, "I can laugh at you and all the rest as you guys run around your dormitory at midnight trying to find your things."

Clarice rolled her eyes. "Of course, this gives you _plenty_ of free time to talk to certain people..."

"I thought you agreed never to bring him up again?"

"No, I agreed never to say his _name_ again. And I haven't. All I'm saying is that you really should talk to him before we leave."

"No," Rose said, shaking her head. "I told him the truth and I walked away, and now I can be done with him, which is _exactly_ what I need. Now I may even have the chance to meet a devilishly handsome trainee healer."

"Be as cavalier as you want, but you and I both know that you need more closure than you got."

"How do you know I didn't get closure? I haven't told you what he said."

"Which leads me to believe that you didn't give him the chance to say _anything_."

"If he wanted to talk to me he would've by now."

"You're being horribly immature," Clarice muttered, walking over to her bedside table and rooting through her things.

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are _too_!"

"Am _not_!"

Rose accented her last word by throwing a rolled up pair of socks at Clarice, who turned around, putting on a great show of indignation while barely concealing a grin.

"You're going to regret that," she smirked, reaching for her pillow.

* * *

><p>The last week of term, their last week at Hogwarts, passed in a blur of goodbyes to teachers, classmates, favorite haunts, and the castle in general. Scorpius was no longer speaking to Albus, or much of anyone else, though the former was due to his anger while the latter was simply due to his moroseness. He had resolved to speak to Rose one last time, and tell her about his bet with James. He told himself it was because he wanted her to be angry at them too, and to punish them, and to a certain extent that was the reason, but, as was always the case with Rose, there was more beneath the surface. He wasn't ready to be 'done with her,' and he planned on telling her that. He needed more closure than he'd gotten because Rose had inexplicably become the center of his universe over the course of the year. Of course, she'd always occupied a certain amount of his time, but this year things had changed. He supposed it had to do with the line between love and hate. Before, he'd thought it was a canyon at the very least, if not an ocean, but now he realized it was simply a line, and a thin one at that. When you're indifferent to someone they occupy none of your time, you don't think about them, you don't have an opinion of them, you don't care about them. When you hate someone, you have to care enough to hate, know enough to hate. They occupy your thoughts almost as if you loved them, and somewhere during this mess of a year his feelings for Rose had crossed that line. He wouldn't say that he loved her because he <em>didn't<em>. After everything they'd been through, after the way that she'd hurt him, he couldn't possibly love her, but he knew now that he could someday, and that he still cared about her. He also knew that if they ever gave a real relationship any type of chance that he _would_ love with her. The idea had scared him before, but after her betrayal it didn't because he knew what it would be like to lose her because he'd already lost her. He knew the pain he'd have to endure if they tried to be a couple and things didn't work out, and he knew without a doubt that it would be worth it.

However, just because he wasn't afraid of being in love with her didn't mean he wasn't afraid of actually taking the first step, which is why he waited. And waited. And waited.

The last day of term arrived, and still he had not acted. Hogwarts didn't have a graduation ceremony of any kind, although boarding the Hogwarts Express for the last time was ceremony enough. He'd bidden farewell to his favorite professors, visited his favorite spots, and was taking his last look at the castle as he boarded the train, his trunk in one hand and his owl's cage in the other.

He was debating where to look for a compartment when someone tapped his shoulder. He turned around and was face to face with Al, who was grinning.

"We rode together on our first ride on the train, remember? It'd be a shame not to ride together one last time." Albus extended a hand, which Scorpius took, and knowing look passed between them. So many unsaid things were made known in that look, and Scorpius knew that, despite everything, Al was his best mate, and would be for the rest of his adult life. In that look Albus was apologizing, Scorpius was apologizing, Albus was accepting, and Scorpius was accepting, and as they looked for their compartment a comfortable silence overtook them, the unsaid things still occupying their minds.

They got a compartment to themselves, but something was missing. On their first ride on the Hogwarts express two others had been with them, Clarice Longbottom, and Rose Weasley. It was the first and only time that she and Scorpius had ridden together on the train, the beginning of his friendship with Al and her's with Clarice, and the beginning of their rivalry, their all-consuming hatred, their...love?

Almost as if Al had read his mind, he said, "If only Clarice and Rose were here. We'd have come full circle, wouldn't we?"

"Yeah," muttered Scorpius, glancing out of the window at the castle in the distance. Students were still on the platform, piling into the train, and somewhere in the crowd he spotted bright red curls that he recognized instantly. His stomach dropped. He'd run out of chances.

To his great surprise, however, it seemed as if he had not. For Clarice pulled Rose into their compartment not two minutes later, saying "It's how we came to Hogwarts, this is how we have to leave!"

Neither Scorpius nor Rose missed the knowing look that Clarice and Al exchanged, and Scorpius realized angrily exactly why Al had been so keen to make up with him at that particular moment. Rose, however, who knew nothing of Al's involvement with Scorpius' betrayal, was simply seething at being forced to sit in the same compartment with him.

She knew that Clarice was right, that she _did_ want more closure than she'd gotten. She wanted to know what he thought of her confession, whether he felt as hurt and betrayed as she had, but she didn't know how to ask.

It was sure to be a _long_ train ride.

**I'm really pleased with this chapter (despite the large amount of angst). Originally I'd intended to continue the chapter and include the entire ride on the train, but it would've been much too long (as it is this is one of the longest chapters yet), so I'm stopping here, but I'm still feeling inspired, so the next update shouldn't be too far behind. Reviews, as always, are much appreciated and loved.**

**XOXO**

**GossipGirlHere  
><strong>


	12. The Truth

**And here we have another chapter! I give you: _The Truth_**

The first hour or two of the ride was uneventful, and consisted mostly of Clarice and Albus making forced conversation while Rose and Scorpius looked anywhere but at each other. During the rare moments when their eyes did meet, Rose would blush, bite her lip, and avert her gaze while Scorpius would become instantly fascinated by his fingernails. The train ride from Hogwarts to King's Cross Station was approximately seven hours, and by the end of the second everyone's patience was wearing thin.

"Listen mate," Albus said, turning to Scorpius as the third hour of the trip began. "I'm gonna go and say goodbye to Thomas, Brody, and Peter. I think I saw them getting a compartment down the hall. You coming?"

However, from the look Al was giving him, Scorpius knew that, whether he wanted to or not, he would not be allowed to join Al. "Nah, I said goodbye to them back at school, and I'll see them again on the platform."

"Suit yourself," Albus shrugged, inwardly pleased that Scorpius had understood his intentions. He left without a word to either of the two girls, who were both sitting opposite Scorpius and Albus' now-empty seat.

"You know what," Clarice said, as if an idea had just struck her. "I never said goodbye to Emma. I mean, I know we had a fight only a few days ago, but I just can't leave Hogwarts forever without clearing the air between us..."

She drifted off suggestively as she left the compartment, sliding the door closed quietly behind her, leaving a ringing silence in her wake as Rose and Scorpius tried to process how unsubtle their respective friends had become.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, each stealing glances at the other when they thought the other wasn't looking. Rose was waiting for Scorpius to speak first, to say _anything_, anything at all, and Scorpius was desperately putting off speaking, knowing that it would mean the end for them. While he kept the silence going he could believe that it would all work out, as they hadn't totally self-destructed. This would be the last conversation, they'd say it all, and then they'd really be able to be done with each other.

However, he could only put it off for so long. After about ten minutes he decided that enough had been enough. Not totally sure of where he was going he said, "Rose," a little louder than he'd meant to. After all of the silence she started a bit before turning her head from the window to look directly at him, making eye contact with him for the first time in weeks. "I said before that I was going to tell you the truth," there was no question of what 'before' was referring to. "And I did, at least, I told you _most_ of the truth. But you need to hear the rest, especially after what you told me. I didn't just decide to make you fall in love with me on a whim; it was a bet. With James."

The words hung out there, unrefined, awkward, poorly phrased, raw, and emotional. As they washed over Rose and entered her consciousness, her brow furrowed. Whatever she'd been expecting, it certainly hadn't been _that_.

"I'm done," she said after a moment, standing up and moving towards the door.

"Wait, what?" Scorpius stood up, confused.

"I said I'm done. Done with you, done with this bet, done with all of it."

She made to open the door as Scorpius said, "Is that really all you have to say?"

"What else can I say? So we were played by my prat of a cousin? It doesn't change anything between us. This entire year was based on a lie, and I'm done with it."

"Rose wait!"

But she'd already left the compartment, letting the door slide shut with a bang.

* * *

><p>Another two hours had gone by, and the fifth hour of the trip was just beginning. Albus and Clarice had returned to the compartment an hour before, and upon finding Scorpius alone Albus had gone in to console him while Clarice had run off in search of Rose. It took almost an hour to find her, in the very back of the train, alone in a compartment, tears streaming down her face.<p>

"Rose, what-"

"Tell me the truth. Did you know?"

Clarice wished she could deny it, but nodded.

Rose shook her head, incredulous. "How? How have you been living with yourself? All year! You let me carry on, you _encouraged_ me to get involved, to care about him, and all this time...And, what? Albus was helping Scorpius out, right?"

Clarice nodded. "James set the whole thing up. Made the bet with you and with Scorpius, then sent me and Al in to watch your backs, help you out as best we could. He wanted to lose, you see. It was all his plan to make you and Scorpius realize your feelings for each other."

"What feelings?" Rose asked. "Before this year the only feeling we had for each other was hatred!"

"Jame thought there could be something more, and-"

"And what? You thought it'd make a nice little experiment? And, Lily, I suppose was just another of James' tools?"

"Not at first. Scorpius came up with the idea of using Lily as a girlfriend to make you jealous, but it served James to have her in the game, so she was helping you both at her own discretion."

Rose slumped back against the seat and turned back to the window. She knew she aught to be angrier at Clarice and her cousins, but she'd meant what she'd said to Scorpius: she was ready to be done. She was too emotionally exhausted to process anymore. All year she'd supposed she'd been calling the shots, that _she'd_ been the one playing Scorpius. Then he confessed and she thought she'd been the one getting played, and now it came out that the only person _not_ getting played was James. And all of this normally would've made her ready to kill him, to jinx him into a thousand pieces, but she didn't even have enough in her for anger anymore. Finally the truth was out, the _whole_ truth, and yet there were still so many questions unanswered. Were she and Scorpius really done? Could she be done with him? Realistically she knew that she couldn't because as much as she'd like to be done, to have all of the emotional drama go away, they'd gone too far for that. She was addicted to him, captivated by him, enchanted by him, motivated by him, calmed by him, energized by him. He was necessary to her existence, and she knew she couldn't change that now, but she wasn't sure if it was a good thing or not. Before this year she'd always been happy. She'd excelled at everything, she'd had friends and boyfriends, she'd gotten along with everyone and she'd enjoyed her hatred of Malfoy. She'd never felt that she was lacking anything in life, but this year she'd felt more _alive_ than she'd ever felt before, all because of Scorpius, but she wasn't sure if it was worth it. Cause sure, being _alive_ the way she'd been this year meant having the highest highs possible but it also meant having the lowest of lows, and she wasn't sure if it was worth it.

"Rose? Rose? Earth to Rose!"

Rose started and realized that Clarice had been attempting to get her attention.

"What?" she snapped. She was not in the mood to hear more from Clarice. As far as Rose was concerned, whatever her intentions had been, what Clarice did was nothing short of betrayal, and listening to her had only gotten Rose into this mess, so why on earth would she want to listen to her now?

"You can't just leave things with Scorpius this way. You owe him an explanation-"

"I don't owe him _anything_," Rose cut her off.

"Yes, you do. You owe him an explanation, at least."

"An explanation of what, exactly?"

"How you feel!" Rose groaned, but Clarice continued. "If you get off this train without telling him how you feel, without finding out how _he_ feels, you'll always regret it."

Rose groaned again. She knew Clarice was right, but she wasn't ready to face the music just yet.

"Fine," she grumbled. "Go back to the compartment and send him here. If he doesn't want to come don't make him, just tell him I'll be here for the rest of the trip. Fair enough?"

"Good," Clarice nodded in approval, leaving without another word.

When she arrived at their compartment she could see Albus sitting across from Scorpius, leaning forward as Scorpius spoke. She hesitated outside of the door and listened as best she could, grateful that they were both so absorbed in the conversation that they didn't notice her standing right there.

"I'm not going to say that I love her because I don't," Scorpius was explaining. Clarice's heart sank. "I can't possibly love her, not after all of this. Not when we haven't even had a real relationship. I would say I fancy her, but that doesn't really cover it. I really care about her, I don't want to hurt her anymore, and she said she was done and I have to respect that-"

He stopped abruptly, having seen Clarice hovering by the door. She slid it open and walked in, sliding it shut behind her, looking bashful.

"It's rude to eavesdrop," Scorpius muttered.

"Sorry," she replied.

"He's ready to give up!" Al said indignantly, gesturing at Scorpius. "Without even knowing how she feels!"

"She said she was ready to be done. That seems like a good enough feelings indicator to me," Scorpius muttered, looking out the window.

"That doesn't mean _anything_," Albus said, while at the same time Clarice said, "She's just afraid."

"Afraid?" Scorpius asked, turning to look at her.

"She doesn't want to get hurt again," Clarice explained. "Rose has never been the type to let a guy hurt her, and she let you, and she's terrified of getting hurt again, of being hurt _more_. She's so afraid that if she did want to be with you she would stifle it because the reasonable thing to do is walk away and maintain some self-preservation!"

"Stupid Ravenclaws..." Albus muttered.

Scorpius thought for a minute before asking, "Where is she?"

"Last compartment at the end of the train," Clarice answered, trying not to beam.

Scorpius stood up deliberately, strode over to the door, slid it open, stepped out, slid the door shut, and walked down the corridor. When he was sure that Albus and Clarice wouldn't hear him, however, he broke into a run. He knew he was hurtling towards more pain and, probably, more rejection, but he was ready for the whole truth. Every single bit of it. Not just the facts, not just the who did what type information, he wanted the truth about where they stood, the truth about how she felt, and he was going to get it.

He slowed to a walk to catch his breath when he neared the end of the train, so that his breathing had reestablished its normal pattern by the time he reached her compartment. He stopped by the door and looked in to see her sitting, hugging her knees to her chest, by the window and looking out at the dismal landscape. It had started to rain.

He knocked once. Her head snapped so fast that he was sure she'd have a crick in her neck. Rather than saying anything she simply gave a small nod and waited as he came in and slid the compartment door closed.

"Rose," he began quietly, "I need to say something. And, I'd really appreciate it if you didn't interrupt me until I've finished. We need to get the truth out, the whole truth. Not just about what actually happened and about who did and said what, that's already out there, the truth about what this means, what-what we feel." He took a deep breath. She was afraid, Clarice had said, too much of a Ravenclaw to make this leap, so he was going to make it. He was going to put himself out there, completely expose himself, and hope she didn't break his heart again. "I started out this year hating you, the way I'd been hating you for the last six years, ever since we've known each other. But then, after we started talking, after we started getting to know each other, I realized that I hated you for all the wrong reasons. I realized that I liked you, or at least, I could stand you. Then it looked like you were falling in love with me and I started to, I guess you could say, buy my own con. And then we kissed on New Years, and I _said_ it was for the bet, and I told myself that I didn't _really_ like you, I was just _pretending _to for the bet because I didn't want to admit that I was getting so involved, but I was. And then I felt guilty because I care about you and I was destroying your life, so I started to ignore you, I tried to pull away, but by then it was too late, we were in too deep, and, well, you know the rest, don't you? Well, the thing is, Rose, I don't want us to get off of this train still wondering what the other is thinking. I don't want to get off this train still thinking about the 'what ifs,' which is why I'm gonna say it, so that you really hear it this time. I'm not gonna say that I love you, because I don't, I _can't_ after all of the lies and the hurt, but what I can say is that if we gave us a chance, a real and proper chance, that I would love you. As it is, I'm already falling in love with you, and if you decided to walk away, if you really meant it when you said that you were done, it would hurt because I do care about you and I really am falling in love with you."

Rose stared blankly at him, processing everything that he'd said.

"Well," he said awkwardly, disconcerted by her silence. "That's it, so..."

She stood up. This was the moment of truth. She could decide to be safe, to walk away, to be done, or she could take the risk, the risk of getting hurt in the future, but maybe, just maybe, having everything. And Rose always had had more Gryffindor in her than people realized.

Confessions could wait, words could wait, they'd have more time for that later. He'd put himself out there, risked it all, and she needed to tell him how much it had meant to her. She knew she wouldn't be able to find the words to tell him all that she felt: that she was sorry, that she'd been hurt, that she really did care, that she was falling in love with him. She didn't have words to express it, he'd always been the only one who could leave her speechless.

So she kissed him.

**So there you have it: the truth. This isn't the end of the story, don't worry. There'll be at least another chapter (if not two) and then an epilogue (if you've never read my stories before you won't know this but you'll soon learn: I have a major thing for epilogues; like, _really_ major, as in 5-chapter-long epilogues type major). Anyways, reviews, as always, are much loved.**

**XOXO**

**GossipGirlHere**


	13. The Sorting Out

**I am **_**so**_** insanely sorry that there was such a delay between the last chapter and this one! I've just had a ton going on, but it's really no excuse. I'm still pleased with how it turned out, and I hope it'll be worth the wait. Enjoy!**

"I think we're almost there," Clarice said, peering out of the window. "We'd better pack up."

"I would've won," Albus muttered, piling chess pieces into their box.

"_Sure_ you would've," Clarice said as she folded up the board.

"Yeah, mate, Clarice was totally winning," Scorpius said with a grin.

He and Rose had returned to the compartment after about an hour of explanations, confessions, and some much-anticipated snogging. They spent most of the remaining part of the trip watching Albus and Clarice play several close games of chess, Rose content to mock her cousin whenever possible and Scorpius happy to zone out while idly playing with Rose's fingers. Clarice and Albus spent a good part of the remainder of the journey trying not to look too pleased with themselves, and failing miserably. Even though they put up a good show of disgust when Scorpius kissed Rose randomly during the trip, they were each basking in the glory of their success.

"She was not," Albus said, glaring at his best friend before gagging slightly. Rose was seated so close to Scorpius that she might've been on his lap, his arm around her shoulders while his other hand played with her fingers. "And will you two stop it!"

"You were the one who wanted this," Rose smirked. "Now you've got to deal with the consequences of your success, don't you?"

"Hey, hey, hey! I think we should all remember that this wasn't _my_ idea."

"Oh, don't worry." Rose rolled her eyes. "James'll be reminding us that this was _his_ idea for the rest of our lives."

Everyone laughed, even Clarice.

"Oh, God," Rose said, horrified as she watched Clarice laughing.

"What?" Clarice asked defensively.

"You've got this awful look like you think it's _cute_," Rose said, repulsed.

"Well..." Clarice hedged.

"That's disgusting," Albus said.

"Just you wait," Clarice said in a huff. "I bet that when you finally get yourself together and get a girlfriend-"

"Like that'll ever happen," muttered Scorpius with a smirk.

"You'll think every vile thing she does is adorable! And _you_," she glared at Rose. "I know for a fact that you think every annoying thing that he does is cute!"

"I do not!" Rose defended herself, while at the same time Scorpius said, "I don't do annoying things!"

Clarice shrugged. "You both know I'm right."

Before either could retort, Albus pointed out the window and said, "We're here!"

And sure enough, the platform was speeding past them, more and more slowly, until the train came to a stop.

"This is it, isn't it?" Rose whispered. It seemed like speaking too loudly would break the magic of the moment. "It's really over."

"Yeah," Albus said, slightly dazed.

They each paused for a moment to grasp the enormity of the concept. They were done. They would never be students at Hogwarts again. Never would they walk by the lake, fly around the pitch, or work late-nights in the common room. Never would Scorpius and Albus play gobstones in the Slytherin common room, never would Rose and Clarice spend hours at dinner gossiping with their fellow Ravenclaws, never would Rose and Scorpius curse each other from across hallways, yell at each other from across classrooms, shove each other fifty feet high in the air on the Quidditch pitch. They were done. It was time for the real world.

"Well," Clarice said after a moment, "We can't stay here forever. Come on!"

They pulled their trunks down from the racks above their heads, took hold of their owl cages, and proceeded down the passageway and off of the train for the last time.

As they scanned the platform for their parents, both Rose and Scorpius had the same, terrifying thought, one which had not occurred to them until that moment. Though they were both getting their own places soon enough, Scorpius with Albus and Rose by herself, as Clarice was moving in with James, they hadn't had time to look yet, and as a result both would be living with their parents until they could find apartments. This, unfortunately, meant that they had no hope of keeping their relationship a secret.

As Ron and Hermione appeared close by, Rose and Scorpius both turned to look at each other in utter panic. What could they possibly say? Then, as if God was punishing them for some horrible crime, none other than Draco Malfoy called out from behind them, "Scorpius! Is that you?"

"Oh God..." Rose whispered, as they both whipped around to see Draco and Astoria walking towards them.

Before either of them could confer as to what to do, their parents were upon them.

"Mum, Dad," Rose said, attempting to look pleased, while in reality she'd never been less pleased to see them.

"Rose!" her mother beamed, hugging her tightly.

"Hey Rosie," her dad said while Hermione continued to hold Rose.

When she was finally released, Rose bounded forward and kissed her father on the cheek, saying "Hi, Daddy," as she did so. Neither of her parents seemed to have noticed that only a few feet away, the Malfoy family was having a similar reunion.

"Scorpius, dear, it's so good to see you," Astoria said, hugging Scorpius so tightly that he thought he would explode.

"Good term?" Draco asked, clapping Scorpius on the shoulder as Astoria released him. "You didn't write much, and your letters didn't say much when you did, but I'm sure it was just N.E.W.T.s. How'd they go?"

"Good, I think," Scorpius answered, distracted slightly. He wanted to catch Rose's eye, _anything_ to give him a clue as to what to do.

Rose saw him looking and said to her parents, "Why don't you go along and look for Hugo. I'll be along in a moment."

"What-" Ron began, but Hermione, who'd noticed the furtive glances Rose and Scorpius were shooting each other, said, "Good idea!" and without another word dragged Ron off in search of their son.

With Rose's parents out of the way, the only thing left to do was get rid of Scorpius'. However, before Scorpius could make up a reason that he needed to leave them, a reason arrived of it's own accord. Albus, James, Lily, Ginny, and Harry had just walked up to the Malfoys. Though at first it had been more than a little awkward between the two families, they had managed to put their differences aside for Albus and Scorpius' sakes. Though Draco, Harry, Ginny, and Astoria would never be friends, both boys were always welcome at the other's home, and the adults made an effort to converse politely whenever they saw each other.

Rose pulled Scorpius aside the moment his parents were engaged in small talk with Harry and Ginny, and Albus, Lily, and James, being the nosy people that they were, followed.

"What do we do?" whispered Rose.

"Well we'll have to tell them eventually, won't we?" Scorpius muttered back.

"Yes, but not on a crowded platform!"

"May I suggest-" James began, but Rose turned on him with a look so furious that he stopped speaking immediately.

Without warning Rose slapped him. "_You_. You'd better not suggest anything you foul, loathsome, arrogant _prat_!"

James looked dumbstruck. However, he soon recovered and said, in an irritatingly lofty voice, "Well then, if you don't want my advice..."

Rose groaned, fully aware that James, while irritating, would probably have thought of a way out of this situation.

Scorpius, upon seeing that Rose wouldn't ask for James' help no matter how much she wanted it, asked, "What's your advice?"

"Tell them now," he replied. "If you tell them both here in public they can't explode, and by the time they get to a place where they _can_ explode, they'll have had time to relax."

"It might even be better," Lily mused, "To _show_ them rather than tell them. Just kiss in front of them, that way you won't have to struggle to get the words out."

"Good idea," James said with an approving nod, "Neither of them are eloquent enough to say it without botching it."

Rose and Scorpius glared at all three Potters, each wondering privately if their lives wouldn't have been better if they hadn't known them. The whole family was damned irritating. Though, they also had to acknowledge, also brilliant schemers, or, at least, James and Lily were. For a Slytherin, Albus didn't seem to have as much of a knack for scheming as his siblings.

"Fine," Rose muttered. She hated to admit that her cousins' plan was a good one.

"Well, you'd better get on with it," Al smirked, gesturing behind Rose and Scorpius and causing them both to turn. "They're coming this way."

Indeed, Ron and Hermione were returning, having located Hugo, who was being questioned by Hermione and looked a little irritated by it while Ron smirked and rolled his eyes at his wife and son's antics.

"Shame too," James smirked, "Uncle Ron does look _so_ happy just now."

Rose glared at James, but could do no more than that, as Draco and Astoria had just turned from Harry and Ginny, and Rose and Scorpius were caught between the two incoming sets of parents. Without pausing to think about how insane it was, Scorpius leaned forward and kissed Rose full on the mouth.

After a moment they broke apart, and, careful not to look at their parents and toning out James', Lily's, an Albus' laughter, exchanged their goodbyes.

"I'll owl you later and we can meet next week," Scorpius said resolutely, still not looking at his parents.

"All right," Rose said. Both had voices marked by false casualty, but it didn't much matter.

"Bye."

"Bye."

And, after a shared breath, both turned to face their parents, each knowing they could do it because, in the end, they had each other. No matter how much either of their fathers yelled and screamed and stopped his feet, they knew one thing: if the past year couldn't tear them apart, nothing would.

**I know you guys were waiting for an update for AGES and I'm so sorry. I couldn't go on with this story without feeling like it was losing quality cause I didn't have the inspiration and I didn't want it to lose quality cause I believe it is some of my best work. I hope you enjoyed reading it!**

**XOXO**

**GossipGirlHere**


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